Furrball & the Chocolate Factory
by cartoonfan93
Summary: In a Willy Wonka parody, Furrball & his friends are on a hunt for 5 golden tickets to enter Willy Wombat's chocolate factory.
1. The new candy store

The bell rang at Acme Looniversity, ending the school day & allowing the students to leave. Everyone stormed out of the front doors, happy to leave the school.  
Buster, Babs, Plucky, Shirley, Hamton, Furrball, Fifi, and Calamity were all walking together, having their own conversation about class with Wile E. Coyote.  
"Did you see how Calamity tricked Professor Coyote to fall into that Acme Donut Hole?", Babs asked.  
"Heck yeah", Plucky replied, "I can't believe he pulled a fast one on Professor Coyote like that."  
"I gotta say, Cal", Furrball said, "despite the trouble you could be facing, I think that was a job well done."  
The other toons agreed, as Calamity held up a sign that says, "Aw schucks, it was nothing." He then flipped his sign, which now says, "It wasn't the first time I fooled him."  
Plucky then said, "You should thank Monty for those Acme Donut Holes. Those things do come in handy in some situations."  
The other toons agreed with Plucky. The Acme Donuts Holes was an invention created by Montana Max, which were simply portable holes that can be placed on walls, ceiling, floors, anywhere. However, the factory that was producing these Acme Donut Holes were polluting the air, and Plucky, as the Toxic Revenger, managed to shut down Monty's factory & save the day. Sort of.  
However, Monty kept some spare Donut Holes at his mansion since the aftermath where his factory disappeared.  
"So", Babs spoke up, "what do you guys want to do now?"  
"Well", Hamton replied, "I did hear about this new candy store that is opening up today."  
"A new candy store?!", Plucky replied, "I am SO in! What do you guys say?"  
The other toons all exclaimed in agreement.  
"Sounds good to me", Buster exclaimed. "Off to the new candy store!"  
The toons then set off to their destination.

The toons arrived at the new candy store, named "Krazy Kandy", and stepped in through the front door. Everyone was awestruck as they looked around the store, which was filled with hundreds of different chocolate bars, lollipops, and various candies from around the world.  
"My goodness", Hamton said, "everything here looks so yummy." He started drooling as he finished his sentence.  
"Oui", Fifi replied, "I don't know what to try first."  
The others started talking excitedly, wondering what to try out first. Just then, the store's clerk, a large, dark red warthog, entered the room & saw the toons from behind the counter.  
"Hello children", he said, "welcome to Krazy Kandy, where candy means everything. How may I help you?"  
"Well", Buster replied, "we'd like to try out some of the candy you have here."  
"Of course. Since it's the store's grand opening, everything here is at a very low price. So have a look around, try anything that you crave."  
Everyone then split up & started running around the store, looking for what they could eat.  
They were all having so much fun having their own feast of sugary sweets, but Furrball looked around from the center of the room, trying to figure out what to eat first.  
"Hey, kiddo", the clerk said, "Can I help you with anything?"  
"Yeah", Furrball replied, "I can't seem to make up my mind on what to have."  
"Is there anything you like in particular?"  
"Yeah, do you have any good chocolate bars?"  
"I sure do." The clerk went behind the counter & pulled out a small, rectangular object & held it up.  
"Try this", he said as he handed it to Furrball. The blue cat looked at the candy bar & read it out loud.  
"'Willy Wombat's Scrumpdiddlyumptious Bar.'"  
"Yep. Try it, I'm sure you'll like it."  
Furrball unwrapped the chocolate bar, which were 6 pairs of small square-shaped pieces stuck together, broke off a piece & popped it in his mouth.  
He opened his eyes wide in surprise. It was the best thing he ever tasted.  
"Mmmmmm...", he said as he closed his eyes & smiled very happily.  
"Do you like it?", asked the clerk.  
"No", Furrball replied, "I LOVE it! This is the best darn candy bar I've ever had!"  
"I'm glad to hear that."  
Fifi then came up to Furrball & asked, "What are vous eating, mon amore?"  
"It is called...", Furrball couldn't remember the name of the chocolate bar he just tried, so he picked up the wrapper & handed it to Fifi.  
"'Willy Wombat's Scrumpdiddlyumptious Bar.' Zhat eez, how you say, quite a mouthful."  
"This is really good, Fifi", Furrball said as he broke off a piece & offered it to her, "try it."  
Fifi parted her lips and Furrball gently fed the piece of chocolate to her. She opened her eyes wide in surprise, just like Furrball did earlier.  
"Ooh la la!", she exclaimed, "Zhis is tres deleecious!"  
"What do you have there?", Buster asked.  
"Some candy bar", Furrball replied, "made by someone named Willy Wombat."  
Buster was surprised at the name he just heard. "Willy Wombat?!"  
"Oui", Fifi replied, "do you know heem?"  
"Do I know him? Willy Wombat makes the greatest candy & chocolate bars EVER! Ever since he made his factory, he's been serving the best sweets ever created in Acme Acres."  
"He has a factory here? Een Acme Acres?"  
"Yes, you didn't know that?"  
The cat & skunk both shook their heads.  
"Wow, I'm quite surprised."  
"Where is this factory?", Furrball asked.  
"Come with me, I'll show you."  
Buster then made his way to the door. Furrball & Fifi followed the blue bunny out of the store.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know Willy Wombat is originally a character from T.U.F.F. Puppy, and that you think I should make this a Tiny Toons & T.U.F.F. Puppy crossover, but I won't because I don't want to mislead people into thinking that Dudley Puppy, Kitty Katswell, or anyone else from T.U.F.F. Puppy will be in this story. Besides, Willy Wombat only appeared in just 1 episode of T.U.F.F. Puppy, so I don't consider him to be a major character from that show. Anyway, that's my explanation, I'm sure you guys will like this story a lot, so stay tuned (or should I say TOONED) for the next chapter.**


	2. The factory

Buster is leading Furrball & Fifi down the street, looking to show them the factory where Willy Wombat makes all of his creations.  
Neither Furrball nor Fifi ever heard of Willy Wombat, or any of his creations until today at Krazy Kandy.  
The trio walked for several minutes, before arriving at a large black gate. The gate had a large W detailed on both sides.  
"Well", Buster spoke up, "here we are."  
Furrball & Fifi looked through the gate to see an enormous factory, complete with a stained glass window near the top of the building, and several smokestacks billowing a copious amount of smoke. The front of the factory had two large W's that lit up during the night.  
Furrball & Fifi stared at it in amazement; they have never seen this factory before.  
"That's it?", Furrball asked.  
"Yep", Buster replied, "Willy Wombat's chocolate factory itself."  
"Zhis place looks huge!", Fifi exclaimed.  
"I know, Mr. Wombat makes so many different candies & sweets. My grandpa got to see the inside of it."  
The cat & skunk turned to Buster in complete surprise of what they had just heard. "Your grandpa?", Furrball asked.  
"Yeah, he used to work here in this factory."  
"Are vous serious?", Fifi asked in surprise.  
"Yep, he had a lot of fun working with Mr. Wombat & his creations. Sometimes, when I visited my grandpa, he would give me different kinds of sweets that Mr. Wombat recently created."  
"Wow", Furrball said in astonishment, "that's awesome, Buster."  
"It is, my grandpa worked with Mr. Wombat for several years in the factory, until something horrible happened."  
"What happened?", Fifi asked.  
"Well, Mr. Wombat's creations were so popular, that many of the other candy factories went out of business. But, some of the remaining factories weren't gonna give up without a fight. So they sent some of their workers to go undercover as spies & pretend that they were Mr. Wombat's employees, so that they would go into the factory & steal some of Mr. Wombat's secret recipes."  
"Oh mon goodness", Fifi said, "zhat's awful."  
"I know, and soon enough, Mr. Wombat discovered these spies & threw them out. Then, he did the unthinkable."  
"What did he do?", asked Furrball.  
"He fired all of his employees & shut down the factory."  
The cat & skunk both gasped at what they just heard.  
"It's true. My grandpa took me to this factory one day so I would see what's inside, but many of the employees were standing outside, the front gate was locked, and Mr. Wombat was standing on the other side of the gate in front of his factory with a microphone. He said, and I quote, 'I am sorry to do this, but I cannot risk any more of my secret formulas being stolen. I am hereby closing my factory & firing all of you. They always say that all good things must come to an end, and I'm afraid the end is here. It was an honor working with you all, and I wish you all the best.' And without another word, he turned to the factory & went inside. A few moments later, the smokestacks all shut down. Willy Wombat's chocolate factory was out of business."  
Furrball & Fifi were both flabbergasted. They couldn't believe people were desperate enough to actually steal someone else's secret recipes to keep their businesses alive.  
"My gosh", Furrball said, "I'm sorry to hear that, Buster."  
"It's okay, that was a long time ago. But, 2 years after Mr. Wombat shut down his factory, a miracle occured."  
"What happened?", Furrball asked.  
"One day, when I walked by this factory, the smokestacks powered back up. Mr. Wombat's factory was back in business, and before anybody knew it, many brand new treats, never before seen or heard of, were been sold at candy stores worldwide."  
"Zhat's great!", Fifi exclaimed, "Deed your grandfazher get heez job back?"  
"No, he didn't."  
"Why not?"  
"Because Mr. Wombat already had people working for him."  
"Did you see who they are?", Furrball asked.  
"Nope. Ever since Mr. Wombat re-opened his factory, nothing ever came out of that factory except for the trucks that were delivering the candy."  
"Could it be that Mr. Wombat is hiding or protecting something?"  
"Maybe he is, maybe he isn't. All I know is that Mr. Wombat is in that factory, working on new creations."  
"Deed vous ever get to see zhe inside of zhe factory?", Fifi asked.  
"No, I haven't. That's the one thing that will probably never be answered: what's inside the factory now? It's all a mystery, guys. There are so many questions about this factory that will remain unanswered."  
The trio looked at the factory one last time, not knowing what secrets or surprises lie within.

Later that night, at the red Cadillac in the Acme Junkyard, Furrball & Fifi were getting ready for bed, both still having many questions about Willy Wombat's factory that, as Buster said, would remain unanswered.  
"Hey Fifi."  
"Yes?"  
"I don't know about you, but I would really like to see what's inside Mr. Wombat's factory."  
"Oui, me too."  
"Wouldn't it be great if Mr. Wombat actually did allow people into his factory?"  
"Eet would be, but after all zhat he went through een zhe past, I don't think he ever weell."  
"I know, but what if, Fifi, what if we did actually get to go inside the factory & see everthing that Mr. Wombat is working on?"  
"Eet would be tres cool, but he's making sure no one will steal his stuff again."  
"Yeah, but I bet one day, he will come up with a way of letting people into his factory. It would be a lot of fun, you & me, in the factory, with all the chocolate & sweets we could have. It would be like a trip to heaven."  
"We'll have to wait & see, but for now, vous got a leetle piece of heaven right here."  
Fifi then wrapped her tail around Furrball & looked at him with a love glare. Furrball looked back at Fifi, smiling. Fifi tugged her lover to her direction, toward the bed, and Furrball followed suit.  
They both crawled in, pulling the quilt up, & looked into each other's eyes, both having the same loving, tingly feeling as they smiled romantically.  
"Feel like you're een heaven yet, mon amore?"  
"Definitely."  
As Fifi tightened her tail around her boyfriend, Furrball could smell her odor escaping.  
"Heh, funny", he said as the odor reached his nose, "I remember when we first got together, I said I would get used to your smell."  
"Have you?"  
"Pretty much."  
As Furrball looked at Fifi's tail, he pulled the end of it to his face & took one great sniff. Fifi giggled as she watched her boyfriend sniff her tail.  
"Mon amore, vous are zhe only one who ever sniffed my tail."  
"I know. It's weird, right?"  
"Not at all. Een fact, sniffing a skunkette's tail means one thing."  
"What's that?"  
"Eet's a sign of trust."  
Fifi smiled upon finishing her sentence, in which Furrball smiled back. Fifi wrapped her tail & arms around Furrball & pulled him closer.  
"Good night, mon amore."  
Furrball wrapped his arms around Fifi and replied, "Good night, sweetheart."  
The cat & skunk has been in their relationship for almost a month now, and since Fifi always used "mon amore" as a loving nickname for Furrball, he thought he'd give Fifi a loving nickname as well, thus choosing to call her "sweetheart".  
"I love you", Fifi said in a soft, loving tone.  
"I love you too", Furrball replied in the same tone.  
They kissed each other softly on the lips before Fifi lowered herself under Furrball's chin & snuggled into his chest. Furrball started purring, in which Fifi responded with a soft, relaxing sigh, as they both peacefully fell asleep.  
They both then started having their own dreams on the possibilities of what could be inside Willy Wombat's mysterious chocolate factory. 


	3. 5 golden tickets

The next day at school, all of the students were in the cafeteria, enjoying their lunch. Today they were being served deli sandwiches, with a choice of ham, turkey, or a combination of both, along with a small side salad.  
Furrball & Fifi were happily eating their sandwiches with Buster, Babs, Shirley, and Plucky, while having a conversation about Willy Wombat's factory.  
Buster just finished telling everyone about how his grandpa used to work for Mr. Wombat before the factory closed. He told everyone the same things he told Furrball & Fifi yesterday.  
"Is this all true?", Plucky asked, "Your grandfather used to work with one of the greatest candy makers in the entire world?"  
"Mm-hmm", Buster replied, "I kid you not, it is all 100% true."  
"That's amazing, Buster", Shirley said, "like, you should ask your grandpa if he can get you to meet Mr. Wombat or some junk."  
"Well, I could, but it's probably not gonna happen."  
"Why not?", Babs asked.  
"Well, ever since Mr. Wombat re-opened his factory, he wouldn't let anyone see him, not even my grandpa."  
"Who can blame him?", Furrball spoke up, "I mean, after those spies tried to steal his recipes, I don't blame him for keeping people out of his factory."  
"It's quite a shame. Ever since grandpa worked at the factory, I've always wanted to see what's inside. But that won't happen. I don't think Mr. Wombat will ever let people into his factory."  
At that moment, Mary Melody was running up to their table with a small poster.  
"Hey guys", she shouted, "you aren't gonna believe this!"  
"What is it, Mary?", Babs asked.  
"Mr. Wombat is letting people into his factory."  
"What?!", everyone shouted, which startled Plucky while he took a bite of his salad, causing him to accidentally swallow his fork. Everyone turned to him in confusion, since no one saw what he did, as he started choking, trying to cough out the fork.  
"What's wrong, Plucky?", Shirley asked. Plucky turned to Shirley & opened his mouth, pointing at his throat.  
"Oh my- are you choking?!", she asked with a shocked expression. Plucky quickly nodded his head. Shirley then wrapped her arms around Plucky's torso & started doing the Heimlich Maneuver on him.  
"Like, hold still, you moronic mallard!", she said, trying to get Plucky to stop squirming.  
After a few attempts, Shirley finally got Plucky to cough out his fork, which shot straight out of his mouth like a bullet & flew right across the cafeteria, with a few people ducking & jumping out of the way. Calamity Coyote was walking to his table, when the fork shot right into the wall, just barely missing his face. He stopped in his tracks & opened his eyes wide in surprise as he saw the kitchen utensil suddenly appearing in front of his eyes. He looked over to his left & saw Plucky, who was coughing & wheezing from all the choking.  
"Sorry Calamity", he said in a raspy voice. Calamity then looked back at the fork, then nervously took a step back, and went through the door right next to him, exiting the cafeteria.  
"Like, how the heck did you swallow your fork?", Shirley asked Plucky.  
"Beats me", Plucky replied, "I had no idea this was gonna happen."  
After a moment, everyone turned back to Mary. Buster spoke up.  
"You said people are being allowed to go in Mr. Wombat's factory?"  
"Yes, have a look." She handed the poster to the blue bunny & he read it out loud.  
"'Dear people of Acme Acres, I, Willy Wombat, have decided to allow 5 children to enter my factory. In order to enter, there are 5 golden tickets hidden within the wrappers of 5 separate Willy Wombat's Scrumpdiddlyumptious Bars. Each of the 5 lucky finders will then win a trip to the factory & will be given a tour of the interior of said factory by yours truly. At the end of the tour, only one winner will be given the grand prize: a lifetime supply of chocolate. This is truly a once in a lifetime oppotunity that you don't want to miss. I wish you all the best of luck & happy hunting. Sincerely, Willy Wombat.'"  
After Buster finished reading, the whole group all exclaimed in excitement & amazement.  
"I can't believe this", Buster said in astonishment, "after all these years..."  
"Wouldn't it be great if all 5 tickets were found here in Acme Loo?", Babs asked.  
Furrball then started laughing, causing everyone to turn to him.  
"Funny", he said, "Last night, Fifi & I were talking about being able to enter Mr. Wombat's factory if we ever get the chance."  
"Oui", Fifi replied, "now we have, how you say, a golden opportunity."  
Plucky scoffed as he said, "Good luck. Everyone in the entire town will be searching for those tickets, and you'll have to be a real pig to find the first ticket."  
"Plucky", Shirley chirped, "like, that's not a very nice thing to say. What makes you think that will happen?"  
"Mark my words, Shirl, whoever finds the first ticket will be fat, FAT, **FAT!**"


	4. 1st ticket found

Later that day in the hallway, many people were gathered around, some taking pictures, while Hamton J. Pig stood in the center of the crowd, holding a thin, shiny, golden piece of paper.  
Babs, dressed in formal clothes and a blonde wig, joined Hamton in the center of the group, holding a small microphone.  
"Hello folks", she said, "this is Bunny Wawa with Hamton J. Pig, up close and...", she gave Hamton a big kiss on the cheek, "personal."  
"Well, pleasure to be here, Ms. Wawa."  
"Tell me, Hamton, how do you feel about being the fiwst finder of a golden ticket."  
"It makes me quite happy."  
"How do you plan to celebwate?"  
Hamton pulls out a Scrumpdiddlyumptious Bar & said, "By eating more candy!"  
He unwrapped the chocolate bar & took a bite.  
"Tell us Hamton, tell evewybody how you managed to find the fiwst golden ticket."  
"Well...", Hamton took another bite of his chocolate bar, "I just knew I would find a ticket. I eat Mr. Wombat's candies all the time. There's no way I wouldn't end up with a ticket in the first place."  
Furrball, Fifi, Shirley, Plucky, Buster all stood aside, watching Hamton being interviewed.  
"See?", Plucky said to Shirley, "I told ya."  
"Hmph", Shirley replied, "like, I think a lot of people saw this coming."  
"Well, that's 1 down, 4 to go already", Buster spoke up, "I wonder who will end up getting the next ticket."  
"I don't know", Furrball said, "but I do know that Fifi & I will end up with tickets of our own."  
"Don't be so sure about that. Remember, this is Willy Wombat we're talking about here, many people would kill to see him in person."  
Fifi then said, "Zhere are only 4 teeckets left, and zhe whole entire town weell be lookeeng for zhem."  
"If you want those tickets", Plucky said, "you gotta be really lucky to find them. And I say the odds of both of you getting tickets are 1 in a million."  
"I know, I know", Furrball said, "but I can feel it, guys. I can feel that one ticket in my paws."  
"Like, don't keep your hopes up", Shirley said, "the more confident ones are usually the ones who don't win anything or some junk."  
"Thanks, Shirley, I'll keep that in mind."

Later at night, Fifi was in her Cadillac, setting up her bed. Once she finished, she looked at the clock & saw that it was almost 11 PM.  
Furrball was not in the car with Fifi. He told her that he was going for his nightly walk around the block. But that was almost an hour ago.  
Fifi, wondering what's taking Furrball so long to return, stepped out of the Cadillac.  
"Furrball?", she called out. "Furrball, where are vous?"  
"I'm up here."  
Fifi turned to her right & saw her boyfriend sitting on top of a mountain of junk & scrap.  
"What are you doeeng up zhere?"  
"Checking out a really nice view of the factory."  
From where Furrball was sitting, he could just barely see the factory in the distance, its smokestacks shooting out smoke into the night sky.  
Fifi climbed up the pile of junk & joined Furrball at the top, who wrapped an arm around her.  
"How long have vous been up here?"  
"I dunno, about a half-hour or so."  
The cat & skunk looked at the factory far off in the distance before Fifi spoke up again.  
"You really want to go een zhat factory, do you?"  
"Yeah. I know everyone else in town want to go in too, but I just want both of us to have a wonderful time in there."  
"I know, mon amore. I'm sure we'll find those teeckets soon."  
"You're just saying that, are you?"  
"Non, I mean it. You said zhat vous can feel zhe both of us weeth our own teeckets, and I can feel eet too."  
"Really?"  
"Oui."  
Furrball smiled at what he just heard. He felt quite confident about being able to enter the factory with Fifi, but after what Shirley told him today, he's being careful not to get over-confident, or it may not happen.  
"Anyway", Fifi said, "let's go to bed, my love, eet's getteeng late."  
The cat & skunk made their way down the pile & into the car.  
The first ticket has already been found today, but tomorrow is another day.


	5. 2nd ticket found

The next day at school, Furrball & Fifi are walking down the hallway to class, which is completely empty. This made Furrball suspicious.  
"Hmmm, weird", Furrball said, "There's nobody at all in this hallway."  
"I know, eet's strange", Fifi replied. She wasn't feeling suspicious at all. In fact, she knew where everybody is, but Furrball has no clue on what's gonna happen next.  
Everybody was in class, waiting for the cat & skunk. As soon as they entered the class, everyone all shouted one word.  
"**SURPRISE!**"  
Furrball jumped as he saw everyone, but then he smiled & laughed in excitement.  
Today is Furrball's birthday, and Fifi wanted everyone to throw a surprise party for him in class.  
Everyone wished him a happy birthday, including Fifi, who hugged him & kissed his cheek.  
"Aw, guys", Furrball said, "you shouldn't have."  
"Why shouldn't we?", Buster replied, "We wanna make this your best birthday ever!"  
Everyone all chatted in excitement as they gathered around the cat & skunk.  
"Happy birthday, Furrball", Babs said as she presented him a gift.  
"Thanks, Babs." Furrball unwrapped his present & inside was a scarf made of wool.  
"Nice. Did you make this?"  
"Yep, sure did. Do the colors remind you of anyone?"  
Furrball looked at the scarf again & saw that it was colored purple & white.  
"Yeah, it sure does", he said as he turned to Fifi.  
"Here you go, Furrball", Shirley said as she presented her gift, "happy birthday."  
Furrball unwrapped his next gift. It was a small, white box.  
"Oh my gosh, a stupid little box!"  
Everyone started laughing as Shirley replied, "Like, open it or some junk."  
Furrball giggled & said, "I know, I'm just messing with you."  
He opened the box & inside was a necklace with a silver heart on it.  
"A necklace?"  
"It's not just any necklace. It's a Love Necklace."  
"'Love Necklace?'" Furrball put on the necklace, which had a very long chain, causing the heart to reach down to his belly.  
"Why is the chain so long?"  
"Like, that is where the 'love' part comes in."  
Shirley went over & put the chain over Fifi's head, so that both Furrball & Fifi were wearing the necklace.  
"The two of you can wear this together while you two are cuddling or some junk."  
"Ah, I get it", Furrball replied as he looked at the necklace, being wrapped around himself & his girlfriend.  
"Very clever. Thanks Shirley."  
"You're welcome."  
As Furrball took off the necklace, Fifi spoke up.  
"I got somezhing for you too."  
"You do?"  
"Oui." Fifi took out what appears to be a dollar bill. "Zhis eez from my rare money collection."  
As she handed it to Furrball, he took a closer look & saw that it wasn't a regular dollar bill, it was a $2 bill.  
"A two-dollar bill?", Furrball asked, sounding quite surprised.  
"Oui, have vous ever seen one of these?"  
"No, I never knew there was such a thing."  
"Zhey are quite rare. I've found at least 3 of zhem."  
Furrball looked at the dollar & saw Thomas Jefferson on the front. He flipped it & saw a picture of the 1776 signing of the Declaration of Independence.  
"Wow, very cool, Fifi. Thank you."  
"Happy birthday, mon petite pussycat of passion."  
Fifi gave him another kiss on the cheek, which caused the blue cat to blush.  
"Hey, cat", Montana Max said, "I've got something for you."  
"You do?"  
"Yeah, here", he gave Furrball a Scrumpdiddlyumptious Bar.  
"For me?", Furrball asked in surprise. "You're not interested in finding a golden ticket?"  
"Nah. My parents gave me this candy bar hoping that I would get a ticket, but I don't want to go to that silly factory."  
"Why not?", Fifi asked.  
"Because, I hate chocolate."  
"Oh, okay", Furrball replied.  
"So anyway, that candy bar, and maybe a ticket, is yours. Happy birthday, Hairball."  
"It's 'Furrball.'"  
"Whatever."  
Furrball stared at the candy bar in his hands for a moment before he said, "Wouldn't it be great if there actually is a ticket in here?"  
"I hope so", Fifi replied, "zhen zhis would truly be your best birthday ever."  
Furrball looked to Fifi & said, "It already is the best birthday ever, because I have you...", he then turned to everyone else, "and my friends."  
Everyone smiled at Furrball as he finished his sentence.  
"Open it, Furrball", Buster said, "let's see that golden ticket."  
Everyone else exclaimed in agreement, wanting the blue cat to open the candy bar & hopefully see him have a ticket.  
"Okay", Furrball said, "here goes nothing."  
Furrball slowly opened up the wrapper, everyone staring in anticipation. The blue cat finally got to the candy bar inside. But there's no ticket. He took the candy bar out of the foil & flipped it. Not a single sign of gold.  
Everyone looked sadly at Furrball as he sighed in depression.  
"Don't worwy, my love", Fifi said, "zhere's 4 teeckets left. I'm sure we'll find one soon."  
Furrball looked at his candy bar & saw the 12 pieces stuck together. He broke off two pieces & gave them to Buster. Buster then broke off a piece & handed it to Babs. Furrball then gave two pieces to Plucky & Shirley, Monty & Elmyra, Hamton & Fowlmouth, and Calamity & Little Beeper.  
There were only two pieces left in the blue cat's paw. He broke off a piece & gave it to Fifi.  
Everyone in the room ate their piece of chocolate without another word being said or heard.

Later that day, lunch began. Today they were having the same thing as before, deli sandwiches & side salads, but this time, they're also gonna have 1 Scrumpdiddlyumptious Bar with their lunch.  
Everyone got all surprised & excited. They're all being given a chance at finding the 2nd golden ticket.  
The students all rushed to the cafeteria & in line. Once they got their lunch, with the Scrumpdiddlyumptious Bars, they all ran to their seats & the first thing they'd do is open up their candy bars to see if they have a ticket.  
Furrball & Fifi hurried to their seats after grabbing their lunch. Once seated, Furrball spoke up.  
"This might be it, Fifi, we might have our own golden tickets."  
"Let's hope we do", Fifi replied.  
As they held up their candy bars, Furrball said, "On 3. Ready?"  
"Oui, ready."  
"1, 2, 3!", they counted together. They both unwrapped their candy bars quickly, but neither of them have a ticket.  
"Nope", Furrball said. "Non", Fifi replied.  
But then, they both got startled by a loud, high-pitched scream, which caused Furrball's fur to stand on end, and made Fifi's eyes become cock-eyed.  
The cat & skunk turned to where the scream came from. Elmyra was at a table near the center of the cafeteria. She jumped up on top of the table.  
"I found a golden ticket!", she shouted, as she held up the ticket in the air.  
Everyone all got up & surrounded Elmyra's table, but Furrball & Fifi remained seated at their table.  
"Oh no", they said in unison, as they both let their heads fall forward into their food.  
Elmyra was happily holding up her ticket while everyone around her were cheering & congratulating her.  
"Well, zhis day eez ruined", Fifi said.  
"This is the worst birthday ever", Furrball said in a miserable tone. 


	6. 3rd ticket found

Later that night, Furrball & Fifi were in their Cadillac home, still feeling kind of humiliated about Elmyra finding a golden ticket, since they both hate her so much. They almost felt like they wanted to forget about finding their own tickets & not go to the factory, but they wouldn't let that happen.  
They weren't gonna give up on their dreams to enter Willy Wombat's factory just because Elmyra's going. They figure they'll keep their distance from her, if they ever find their own tickets.  
Fifi was getting her bed set up, but Furrball did not go on his nightly stroll yet.  
"Hey Fifi."  
"Yes?"  
"I'm gonna go for a walk, I'll be back in a while."  
"Okay, don't take so long like vous deed last time."  
Furrball walked out the door without another word.  
"He's gonna take so long again", Fifi thought as she looked at the clock, which reads 11 PM. She took note of that as she sat down.  
She sat there for a moment before looking at the clock again. Five minutes have passed since Furrball left. It usually takes him 15 to 20 minutes top to complete his walk around the block.  
Fifi then started getting tired. Slowly, she layed her head down on her pillow. She was certain that it'll be a while before her lover returns.  
She slowly closed her eyes & quickly fell asleep.

"Fifi?"  
Fifi woke with a startled gasp, as Furrball was standing next to the bed.  
"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."  
"Sacre bleu, Furrball", Fifi said as she rubbed her eyes. She took a look at the clock; it was almost midnight.  
"What zhe heck took vous so long?"  
Furrball then took out a couple of Scrumpdiddlyumptious Bars.  
"Deed you go to zhe candy store?", Fifi asked.  
"Yep. It's opened til midnight, which surprises me, actually."  
Fifi was surprised too, not only about the store being open late, but also about Furrball being able to get 2 Scrumpdiddlyumptious Bars.  
"How deed you get zhose?"  
"I bought them with the $2 bill you gave me."  
Furrball sat down next to Fifi & held a candy bar in each paw.  
"Pick one", he said, holding them out to Fifi.  
"Hmmm...zhat one", the purple skunk said, picking the one in Furrball's left hand.  
Furrball handed that candy bar to her & kept the other one.  
"On 3. Ready?"  
"Ready."  
"1, 2, 3."  
They both opened up their candy wrappers. Furrball got to his candy bar first, but there was no ticket inside.  
He set down his candy bar in frustration before he heard a gasp coming from Fifi. He looked up & couldn't believe what he saw.  
There was a shimmering gold light shining from Fifi's candy bar. Her eyes grew wide in amazement as she took out the shiny object from her candy wrapper.  
"I don't believe zhis", she said as she looked up at Furrball. "I've got a golden teecket!"  
"Congratulations, Fifi", he replied with a smile.  
They were both very happy, that's one ticket for Fifi, now they needed one for Furrball.  
But then, Furrball saw Fifi's happy face turn into a look of sadness.  
"What's wrong, sweetheart?", he asked.  
Fifi slowly looked up at her boyfriend.  
She held out the ticket to Furrball & said, "You have eet."  
"What?"  
"Take it, Furrball."  
"Why? You're the one who found it."  
"I know, but you bought zhe candy bar zhat had eet."  
"No. No, Fifi, keep it."  
"Are you sure?"  
"Yes, you found the ticket, so you get to have it. And besides..."  
Furrball took Fifi's hands & held them together with the ticket inside.  
"All I care about is that you now have a ticket. I want you to have it more than I do."  
"Really?"  
"Mm-hmm."  
Fifi smiled at Furrball's comment, in which he smiled back.  
"But what about vous, mon amore?"  
Furrball chuckled as he said, "Don't worry about me. I'll get my own ticket soon, I know it."  
"How do you know?"  
"Believe me, I just know it."


	7. 4th ticket found

Several days have passed since Fifi found her golden ticket. Everyone was proud of Fifi, especially Furrball, since he wanted Fifi to have a ticket to go to the factory.  
But at the same time, Furrball was also getting worried. There are only 2 tickets left, and Furrball has an extremely slim chance of getting his own ticket, and with every passing second, he's getting more & more worried.  
The cat & skunk were walking down the hallway, Furrball still under pressure about finding a ticket. They spotted Monty sitting in front of his locker, looking quite angry.  
"Hey Monty", Furrball called out, "why so grumpy?"  
"'Why so grumpy?' 'Why so GRUMPY?' You wanna know why I'm so grumpy?!"  
The cat & skunk nodded their heads. Monty then placed his hand into his jacket & pulled out a shiny piece of paper.  
"You have a golden ticket?!" Furrball shouted.  
"Not so loud, you twit!", Monty yelled at the blue cat, but it was too late. In a blink of an eye, everyone gathered around Monty & were all taking pictures & chatting excitedly about Monty finding the ticket.  
"Oh, great", he grumbled. Just then, Babs showed up in her formal clothes & blonde wig again.  
"Hello folks, this is Bunny Wawa with Montana Max, up close and-"  
"If you kiss me, I will shove that wig down your throat."  
After a moment, Babs winked at the camera instead. "Personal. So, tell us Monty, how do you feel about finding the fowth golden ticket?"  
"Well, I'll tell you, Ms. Wawa", Monty replied in a mocking tone, "I feel VERY UNHAPPY!"  
"Why do you not feel happy? Don't you feel excited about being able to go to Willy Wombat's beloved factowy?"  
"No, I do not!"  
"How come?"  
"Because, **I HATE CHOCOLATE!**", Monty shouted out loud in Babs face. Furrball & Fifi watched from aside, but Fowlmouth was standing right next to them when he spoke up.  
"Well, it's a good thing you're going to a chocolate factory, YOU DAD-GUM LITTLE..."  
At that moment, Furrball & Fifi quickly covered their ears. Everyone was staring at Fowlmouth in shock as he was swearing like mad.  
Even Babs & Monty were staring at the little chicken in surprise. Shortly afterward, Babs looked at the camera & quickly moved her finger across her neck, signaling the camera to shut off.

Later that day, Furrball & Fifi were walking down the hallway with Monty, talking about why Monty doesn't want to go to the factory.  
"I already told you guys", Monty said, "I hate chocolate. That's why I don't want to go to that stupid factory."  
"Zhen why don't vous give zhe teecket to someone else?", Fifi asked.  
"I would love to, but I can't."  
"Why not?", Furrball asked.  
"Because my parents won't let me."  
"What do you mean they won't let you?"  
"They gave me another candy bar after they found out I gave the last one to you for your birthday. Once I pulled out the ticket, they told me not to give the ticket to anyone or they'll ground me for a month."  
Monty looked down at the ground & shook his head in disbelief. "I hate my parents."  
"Zhis eezn't good", Fifi said, "zhere's only one teecket left."  
After hearing those words, a worried look appeared on Furrball's face.  
"Then, we better start searching quickly before it's too late."  
Just then, right behind the trio, Plucky was heard shouting, "Guys! Guys, you gotta see this!"  
He ran right past the trio with some newspapers in his hand & toward Buster, Babs, Shirley, Hamton, Calamity, and Little Beeper.  
"Like, what is it, Plucky?", Shirley asked.  
"Someone found the final golden ticket."  
"What?!", the group shouted.  
Furrball's body filled with terror as his nightmare came true.  
"Too late", he said.


	8. The 5th ticket?

Furrball, Fifi, and Monty all ran up to the group, who were looking into the newspapers.  
"Oh my gosh", Babs said, "this is terrible!"  
"What eez it?", Fifi asked.  
"You won't believe who found the last ticket."  
"Who?", Monty asked.  
"Rhubella Rat."  
"What?!", the trio shouted.  
"Have a look", Buster said, handing the newspapers to Fifi. She opened it up, with Monty & Furrball looking over her shoulders.  
There's a picture of Rhubella Rat with a smug smile on her face, with the 5th & final golden ticket in her hands & held up in front of her.  
The headlines on the page read "Rhubella Rat, finder of golden ticket #5, says 'Kiss this, Acme Loo-sers!'"  
"Sacre bleu", Fifi said.  
"I know, right?", Buster said.  
Fifi handed the papers back to Buster as he said, "We were all hoping all 5 tickets would be found here in Acme Loo."  
"Yeah", Hamton said, "we really don't want anything to do with those Perfecto Prep nitwits."  
As everyone else was talking about the 5th ticket being found, Furrball slowly looked down at the floor with a look of sadness on his face.  
All this time, he hoped to go to Willy Wombat's factory with his girlfriend & have all the fun they could possibly imagine. But it's not gonna happen. His hopes & dreams have been crushed. All 5 tickets have been found, with the last one being found by a student from Perfecto Prep, Acme Loo's rival school.  
Feeling that there is no hope left at all, Furrball turned away from the group & slowly walked away. Fifi noticed her boyfriend's disappearance from the group.  
"Furrball?"  
The rest of the group stopped their conversations & looked at the blue cat, walking away sadly down the hall, dragging his tail along the floor & hanging his head down in defeat.  
As the group watched the blue cat leave, Fifi's body filled with sadness as she felt the tears in her eyes. She knew in her heart how Furrball was feeling right now. She wanted to run up to him & give him all the love & comfort he needed, but her body was refusing to move as she stood there with the rest of the group, watching the blue cat turn the corner & vanish out of sight.

Later that night at Fifi's Cadillac, the purple skunk was setting up the bed while Furrball was staring out the window.  
He had a sad look on his face, knowing that he will never be able to go inside the factory.  
Fifi, after she finished setting up the bed, turned to Furrball & also had a sad look on her face. She knew what Furrball wanted, about the two of them going to the factory & having fun. But after what happened today, they both know that it won't happen. Ever since the last ticket has been found, Furrball haven't said a word since. It's as if he has gone back to his old, mute self, the way he was before he got together with Fifi.  
The purple skunk slowly approached her boyfriend & placed a hand on his shoulder. She could see the tears in his eyes. She felt that Furrball was ready to cry.  
Fifi turned Furrball so that they faced each other. Then, she gave him a soft kiss on his cheek & gently hugged him.  
"I'm sorry, mon amore", Fifi whispered, as she wrapped her tail around the blue cat. "I'm really, really sorwy."  
They stood silent for a moment. Fifi could hear Furrball sniffling over her shoulder. She knew for sure he's ready to cry.  
Fifi broke the hug & looked into his watery eyes. "I really weesh you would have zhat last teecket. I really do."  
Furrball stared at Fifi in silence, trying his best not to cry. After a moment, Fifi continued speaking.  
"I'll tell you what, eef I win zhe lifetime supply of chocolate, I'd be happy to share eet all weeth vous."  
Furrball responded with a chuckle, which made Fifi smile, as she's finally able to make progress in cheering up the blue cat.  
"Don't worry about it", Furrball said, "I didn't think I would end up with a ticket anyway."  
"What do you mean? Vous said zhat you knew you would end up weez one."  
"I know, but that was me being over-confident. Like Shirley said, the more confident ones usually don't win anything, and my hopes were up too high."  
Furrball then took Fifi's hand & held it. "But don't worry about me, sweetheart. YOU have a golden ticket, and that's all that really matters to me."  
"Are you sure?"  
"Yes. All I care about is that one of us would have a ticket. You got a ticket, you'll be able to go into that factory, and that makes me happy."  
"But eet would be better eef we both had teeckets."  
"I know, but don't worry about me now. You go to that factory & have fun. Tell Mr. Wombat I said 'hello' when you meet him."  
Furrball gave Fifi a kiss on her cheek.  
"Merci, mon amore", Fifi replied, "I weell."  
The cat & skunk both crawled into bed. As Furrball held his girlfriend in his arms, he felt a lot better than he did before.  
He closed his eyes with a smile on his face, because he knows that even though he won't be able to enter the factory, he still has Fifi.


	9. All 5 tickets found

The next morning was a bit overcast, as Fifi & Furrball woke up & got ready for school. The weather made Furrball feel a bit depressed about not being able to have the final golden ticket.  
Fifi could tell how he is feeling & decided not to talk to him on the way to school, because she's worried that she might end up saying something that'll make Furrball really upset.  
On the way to school, the wind started picking up a bit, blowing into the couple's faces. Suddenly, Furrball saw what appears to be a small, green piece of paper that flew right into his face. When he took it off, he saw that it was a dollar bill. He put it into his "pocket" & continued walking with Fifi. A few moments later, while crossing an intersection, he spotted Krazy Kandy to his right.  
He stopped in his tracks, with Fifi standing right next to him, both looking at the candy store. Furrball then took out his dollar bill & looked at it, then back at the store.  
Still feeling depressed, he figured he could use a chocolate bar to cheer himself up.  
He turned to Fifi & said, "I'm gonna get a candy bar. Want anything?"  
"No thanks, mon amore."  
They both walked up to the candy store. As they got to the front door, Furrball stepped inside, while Fifi remained outside. The blue cat saw that there were only a couple of customers in the store, with the store's clerk putting up some chocolate bars on the shelf.  
"Excuse me", Furrball said as he approached the clerk.  
"Oh, hello sonny", he replied upon seeing the blue cat, "good to see you again."  
Furrball smiled as he asked, "Can I have a candy bar, please?"  
"Sure. What would you like?"  
"Um...Willy Wombat's, please."  
"Willy Wombat's Scrumpdiddlyumptious Bar?"  
"Yep."  
"Alrighty then." As the clerk grabbed the candy bar, he turned to Furrball & said, "You know all the golden tickets have been found, right?"  
This was the one thing Furrball hoped he wouldn't hear. This made him feel more gloomy than ever. But, being able to hide his feelings from the clerk, he simply said, "Don't remind me."  
The blue cat took the candy bar & gave the dollar to the clerk.  
"Keep the change", the blue cat said.  
"Alright, thank you."  
"You're welcome."  
"Have a nice day."  
"You too."  
The clerk smiled as he watched the blue cat walk out the door. As he stepped outside & rejoined Fifi, he placed the candy bar into his backpack.  
"I'll save it for later", he told the purple skunk. Soon enough, they resumed their walk to Acme Loo.

The cat & skunk hurried inside Acme Loo as the wind was blowing hard. As they stepped inside & closed the doors, they were welcomed by the warmth of the hall around them. They started walking down the hall & noticed a group of people in the distance. They both headed that way to see what's going on. Buster, Babs, Shirley, Plucky, Hamton, Elmyra, Monty, Fowlmouth, Calamity, and Little Beeper were looking into the morning newspapers.  
"I don't believe this", Babs said.  
"Like, how could they do something like this?", Shirley asked.  
"Hey guys", Furrball called out.  
The group turned to the cat & skunk as Babs said, "You guys are not gonna believe this."  
"What eez eet?", Fifi asked.  
Buster answered, "Remember that ticket Rhubella found yesterday?"  
"Oui, what about eet?"  
Babs replied, "It was FAKE!"  
"What?!", Furrball & Fifi said in unison.  
"Here", Babs said as she gave the papers to the cat & skunk. They looked & saw the headlines that read "Golden ticket found by Rhubella Rat revealed to be phony." Below it lies a picture of Rhubella Rat looking guilty, with a small picture of her ticket, which has circles highlighting parts of the ticket that shows why it's fake.  
"Unbelievable", Furrball said as he shook his head.  
As Buster took the papers back, Shirley said, "Like, can you believe the nerve of that rat, trying to fool the entire town or some junk?"  
"Yeah", Plucky replied, "there's no one else dumb enough to pull off a joke like that."  
But then, Fifi's eyes lit up as she just realised something.  
"Then zhat means...zhere's steell one teecket left to be found."  
Then Furrball opened his eyes wide. He set down his backpack & took out the candy bar he bought earlier. Fifi turned & joined the rest of the group, looking at Furrball. The blue cat looked down at his candy bar. If the ticket Rhubella had was fake, then he might have the real 5th ticket. His hopes returned to him after they went away yesterday.  
Everyone else had hopes for him too, as Fifi said, "Go on, Furrball. Open eet. Vous should have zhat last teecket."  
Furrball hesitated for a moment, before he started unwrapping his candy bar very slowly. The others looked on in anticipation as the blue cat started opening the silver foil.  
As he lifted up the foil, he was greeted by a bright gold light. The others gasped as they saw the bright light shining from Furrball's candy bar & into his face.  
Furrball's eyes lit up as he pulled out the one thing that made his dreams come true: the 5th & final golden ticket. Everyone knew this is the real one, and not fake like the one Rhubella had.  
He looked at the ticket in his paws with wide open eyes as he said, "I don't believe it." He looked at the group, who all started smiling.  
Furrball looked back down at the ticket, before he started laughing happily & shouted, "I did it!"  
The other students from around the hall looked at the blue cat as he shouted, "I did it! I found the 5th golden ticket!"  
The group cheered as Fifi ran up & hugged the blue cat, before the rest of his friends congratulated him & patted his back.  
Then suddenly, Furrball felt someone grab his tail as he was pulled from the group & toward the other students.  
"You have the last ticket?", one student asked.  
"Is this the real ticket?", asked another student.  
"Who found the last ticket?"  
"I want to see it!"  
"I want that ticket!"  
All of the students around Furrball started crowding around him, with one student holding his hand that held the ticket high up in the air.  
"Guys, help!", Furrball shouted, but there was so much clamoring going on, none of his friends could hear him.  
But then, everyone stopped talking as a putrid stench filled the air. Everyone then started running from where the smell was coming from.  
When the crowd cleared, everyone could see that the smell was coming from Fifi, who was standing next to Furrball.  
"Back off, you imbeciles!", she shouted, "this teecket belongs to heem", she pointed at Furrball. "He is zhe one who found eet, so eet eez his to keep. So buzz off & leave heem alone!"  
"She's right", Furrball said, "Sorry folks, finders keepers."  
At that moment, they heard someone clapping; it was coming from Bugs Bunny, who was coming down the hallway.  
"Well done, everyone", he said as he approached the group, "Well done to the five of you that found the golden tickets."  
"Thanks, Professor Bunny", Furrball said.  
"Now that all 5 tickets have been found, for sure this time...", he turned to the blue cat, "Furrball, look at the back of your ticket."  
Furrball did as he was told, but the back was completely blank.  
"Do you see anything?", Bugs asked.  
"No, I see nothing", Furrball replied as he looked up at Bugs.  
"Give it a moment, because something is supposed to happen when all 5 tickets have been found."  
Furrball looked back down as his ticket & gasped at what he saw; a bunch of small words appeared on the back of his ticket.  
"Guys, look!", he showed the group what he saw, "This just appeared on my ticket."  
"Wasn't that there before or some junk?", Shirley asked.  
"No, it just suddenly appeared." Fifi then took out her ticket from her backpack & saw the exact same thing.  
"Hey, zhe same thing happened to my teecket."  
Hamton, Elmyra, and Monty all took out their tickets & saw the same thing as well.  
"It appears to be a message", Furrball said, looking at his ticket again.  
"It is", Bugs replied, "Now that all 5 tickets are here, I think you should read it out one by one, starting with Hamton."  
"Oh, uh...'Greetings to you, the lucky finder of this golden ticket, from Mr. Willy Wombat. I shake you warmly by the hand. For now, I do invite you to come to my factory and be my guest for one whole day.'"  
"Good. Elmyra."  
"'I, Willy Wombat, will conduct you around the factory myself, showing you everything there is to see.'"  
"Now Fifi."  
"'Afterwards, when eet eez time to leave, you will be escorted home by a procession of large trucks, each filled weeth all zhe chocolate you could ever eat.'"  
"Monty."  
"'And remember, one of you lucky five children will receive an extra prize beyond your wildest imagination. Now, here are your instructions.'"  
"Furrball."  
"'On the 1st of February, you must come to the factory gates at 10 AM sharp. You will be escorted to the factory by Bugs Bunny & leave me to look after you upon your arrival. Until then, Willy Wombat.'"  
"Wait a second", Monty said as he looked at Bugs, "how come your name is mentioned in this message?"  
"Because Mr. Wombat contacted me & gave me the honor to escort the 5 lucky winners to his factory."  
"You know Mr. Wombat?", Hamton asked.  
"Sure do. We've been friends for a long time. It's so nice to hear from him again."  
"Wait a minute", Furrball spoke up, "the ticket says 'the 1st of February', that's tomorrow!"  
"Indeed it is", Bugs said with a smile.  
"Oh my gosh, Fifi", Furrball turned to the purple skunk, "do you know what this means?"  
"Oui, we'll be goeeng to zhe factory togezher."  
"Yes. Oh boy, I can't wait."  
The others all exclaimed excitedly, chatting about all the marvelous things that could possibly happen tomorrow.  
Bugs looked on & smiled at the group as they all had their conversations about meeting Willy Wombat & entering his chocolate factory.


	10. Willy Wombat

The day of February 1st has arrived, and the front gate of Willy Wombat's factory was crowded. Not only were the students of Acme Loo there, but pretty much the whole entire town as well.  
Furrball, Fifi, Hamton, Elmyra, and Monty were standing with Bugs Bunny, with their fellow classmates standing behind them. The cat & skunk turned to Buster & Babs & gave each other a thumbs up while smiling.  
The time was 9:59 AM. Just one minute away from the big moment when Mr. Wombat will open up his factory to the 5 lucky winners. Everyone was waiting in anticipation for the clock to strike 10:00. This will be the first time Mr. Wombat will be seen publicly since he closed his factory years ago.  
Hamton was happily munching on a Scrumpdiddlyumptious Bar, while Monty had his arms crossed, not looking happy at all.  
"Come on", he grumbled, "why must this take so long?"  
"It's 9:59", Elmyra said, "we only need to wait one more minute."  
Hamton then said to Monty, "I thought you didn't want to be here."  
"I don't", Monty replied, "I want this to be overwith, and the sooner we get out of here, the better."  
Furrball & Fifi were holding hands & very excited about what's gonna happen today.  
"This is it, Fifi", Furrball said, "isn't this exciting?"  
"Oui, eet eez. I can barely, how you say, hold eet een."  
At that moment, everyone stopped talking at the sound of a loud BONG! They all looked up at the clock & saw that it's now 10 AM.  
The crowd was all silent while the clock rang 9 more times. Once the clock stopped ringing, some fanfare music is heard playing from a couple of speakers hooked up at the top of the gate.  
Everyone all started chatting excitedly as the music played. A moment later, the music stopped & a voice is heard speaking.  
"Good morning everyone, and welcome to Willy Wombat's wonderful chocolate factory, home of the amazing Mr. Willy Wombat himself. Today is the big day, where the 5 lucky winners will enter the factory & be given a guided tour by the candyman himself."  
Furrball & Fifi looked at each other excitedly as the announcer continued speaking.  
"And at the end of the day, only one of the 5 lucky winners will win a lifetime supply of chocolate & a very special bonus."  
Most of the crowd all exclaimed in interest, wondering what the bonus prize will be.  
"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for. Ladies & gentlemen, boys & girls, children of all ages, here he is, Mr. Willy Wombat!"  
At that moment, the music resumed while everyone started cheering. They all wondered how Mr. Wombat will make his entrance.  
Their question is answered as a large balloon appeared from behind the factory.  
"Fifi, look!", Furrball shouted, pointing at the large balloon. The balloon was colored purple with two large W's colored in yellow, with a huge basket dangling underneath.  
Everyone stared in awe as the balloon floated over the factory & made its way towards the gate. As it came near, four ropes appeared from the basket & hung down from it.  
Suddenly, four people colored in red, yellow, green, and blue respectively, all hopped out of the basket & slid down the ropes. When they got to the bottom, they all used the ropes to pull the balloon down.  
When the balloon finally reached the ground, everyone stared in excitement & eagerness as the door swung open, and there stood Mr. Willy Wombat himself.  
He is a wombat, as his name suggests, with curly light-brown hair, dressed in a purple jacket, beige pants, a purple hat, and a bowtie with mixed colors. In one hand, he is wielding a cane that has a red & white pattern similar to a candy cane.  
The crowd cheered as they all saw the candyman appear & step out of the balloon. They continued cheering until the candyman stopped at the gate & opened it. He held up his hand to stop the music & the crowd's cheering as they all looked on happily.  
"Greetings", he said, and a lot of people murmured in amazement.  
"Welcome to my factory everyone. It's nice to see so many friendly faces here. May the 5 winners please come forward!"  
At that moment, the crowd cheered & the music resumed as Hamton made his way forward, followed by Elmyra. Furrball let Fifi step ahead of him, but then Monty rudely cut in between him & Fifi, which took Furrball by surprise. He wanted to push Monty away, but didn't want to cause any trouble. The 5 children all made their way to the gate, with Bugs Bunny following behind.  
As they reached the gate, the music & the crowd stopped again as Mr. Wombat smiled upon seeing the 5 children in front of him.  
"Hello my friends, welcome. I'm so glad to have you all here. This is gonna be such an exciting day, I hope you all will have fun."  
He paused for a moment before saying, "I'm sure you will have fun. Now, hand me your tickets & tell me your names."  
Hamton was the first to step up & present his ticket.  
"I'm Hamton J. Pig."  
"Why hello Hamton, welcome to my factory", Mr. Wombat said as he shook Hamton's hand.  
"I LOVE your chocolate bars, I am a huge fan of your creations."  
"Well, it's such an honor to hear that & I'm glad to have you here. Step right over there please."  
As Hamton stepped aside, it was Elmyra's turn.  
"I'm Elmyra Duff."  
"Hello there Elmyra, welcome", Mr. Wombat said, shaking Elmyra's hand.  
"It's lovely to meet you", Elmyra then did a little curtsy.  
"Well, lovely to meet you too, young lady", Mr. Wombat replied as he bowed to the little girl, "Right over there please."  
As Elmyra joined Hamton, Fifi stepped up.  
"Fifi La Fume."  
"Hello, Fifi."  
"Bonjour."  
"Bon- Oh, you speak French?"  
"Oui, I'm from France."  
"Ah. Well then, bienvenue à mon usine." (Welcome to my factory.)  
"Merci beaucoup." (Thank you very much.)  
Mr. Wombat chuckled as he shook Fifi hand & said, "Nice to have you here, step right there please."  
Monty then stepped up, still looking unhappy.  
"Montana Max."  
"Hello Montana, welcome. Why the long face?"  
"I didn't want to come here to begin with."  
"No? How come?"  
"Because, I hate chocolate."  
"Aw, don't be silly, my dear boy, there are many other things here besides chocolate. I'm sure you'll have a splendid time, huh?"  
Monty looked at the wombat without saying a word.  
Mr. Wombat chuckled as he said, "Let's turn that frown upside-down, shall we? Put her there", he extended a hand to Monty, in which he shook it without hesitation.  
"Attaboy, right over there", he pointed to the trio standing aside. Finally, it was Furrball's turn.  
"Furrball Cat."  
"Well well, Furrball. I've read all about you in the papers this morning. You are just lucky to be here, aren't you?"  
"Eh, you might say that."  
Mr. Wombat laughed as he said, "Well, it's nice to have you here, such an honor."  
After shaking hands with the candyman, Furrball joined the group & stood next to Fifi. Bugs then stepped up to the wombat.  
"Well Willy, here you go, the children are all yours."  
"Thank you very much Bugs, I appreciate it."  
"I gotta warn ya though, I taught them some of the crazy things that I do at Acme Loo, so you might want to keep an eye on them."  
"Don't worry Bugs, I will make sure that they won't get in ANY trouble." Mr. Wombat turned to the group & said, "Right kids?"  
They all nodded their heads in response.  
"All right then", Bugs said, "I'm counting on you. See you in a few hours."  
"Sure thing", Mr. Wombat replied as he closed the gate. "Ready kids?"  
"Yeah!", the group shouted.  
"Alrighty, let's enter the factory."  
Mr. Wombat beckoned the group to follow him as the music & cheering resumed once more. The 5 toons all followed the candyman to the factory, with Furrball & Fifi holding hands.  
As they got to the front door, Mr. Wombat opened the door & let the children go in. They all went in, while Mr. Wombat took one last look at the crowd & does a hat tip. The crowd waved goodbye to Mr. Wombat as he entered the factory & closed the door behind him.


	11. The Chocolate Room

"Right this way", said Mr. Wombat as he lead the 5 children into a small, light blue room with large red curtains on a wall.  
"Now, I would like you all to stand right here", he pointed with his cane to a spot in front of the curtains.  
As the 5 toons stood in front of the curtains, Mr. Wombat went up & started pulling on a string, opening the curtains, which revealed a large piece of paper with writing on it.  
"What's this?", Furrball asked.  
"This, my feline friend, is a contract", Mr. Wombat replied.  
The toons all looked at the contract, which started with big, bolded words. But as they continued reading, the words became smaller & more difficult to read, until at the bottom of the contract, they were nothing but faded horizontal lines that were barely visible.  
"I can't read zhe stuff at zhe bottom", Fifi said.  
"All right children, listen up." The 5 toons turned to Mr. Wombat as he continued.  
"Now, I know you all are excited to be here & that you're eager to see the interior of my factory, but we have some things to go through first."  
"What things?", Hamton asked.  
"I have some rules that you all will need to follow in order to be in this tour."  
Monty scoffed as he grumbled, "Rules, schmules, who cares about them?"  
"Uh, I do, and if you don't like following the rules, I'd be glad to kick you out of this tour before it even begins. Would your parents appreciate that?"  
Monty let out a sigh of exasperation as he replied, "No, they wouldn't."  
"Okay then", Mr. Wombat continued, "now I want you all to raise your right hand", everyone, including Mr. Wombat, raised their hands, "and repeat after me. I, then state your name."  
The toons all said "'I'", then their first & last names.  
"Do solemnly swear..."  
"'Do solemnly swear...'"  
"To follow & obey..."  
"'To follow & obey...'"  
"All rules laid out by Mr. Wombat."  
"'All rules laid out by Mr. Wombat.'"  
"If at any time I break these rules..."  
"'If at any time I break these rules...'"  
Mr. Wombat spoke the next line quite fast.  
"I will be eliminated from the tour & will not take home the grand prize of leaving the factory with all the yummy scrumpdiddlyumptiously chocolate that could keep my stomach full for the rest of my life."  
Mr. Wombat spoke the last line so quickly, no one was able to catch all the things he said. So they all said what they heard & looked at each other in nervousness as they did their best in repeating Mr. Wombat's line.  
As they finished, Mr. Wombat chuckled & said, "Close enough. Now, grab a pen, and sign right here", he pointed at the bottom of the contract, at a solid horizontal line that's below the tiny, faded words.  
Each of the 5 toons grabbed a pen & signed their first & last names. Once they finished, Mr. Wombat said, "Alrighty, on with the tour!"  
"Yay!", the toons shouted as they followed Mr. Wombat to a door with a dial in the center. He turned the dial to the combination of 09-13-16, and pressed the center of it, opening the door.  
"After you", he said, allowing the toons to enter the room before him. The room was a small hallway with various patterns on the wall.  
However, after no more than 10 steps from the entrance, the toons already hit a dead end, with no other door in sight.  
"Wait a second", Hamton exclaimed, "there's no way out of here."  
"Oh, by the way kids", Mr. Wombat started, "you might want to hold on to something."  
"Hold on to what?", Monty asked.  
But at that moment, as soon as Mr. Wombat closed the door, the whole entire room suddenly flipped upside-down, and everyone except Mr. Wombat fell from the floor to the ceiling, or in this case, from the ceiling to the floor.  
Mr. Wombat held on to the door & simply let himself down a moment after the room rotated. The 5 toons were in a pile-up; Monty was on the floor face first with his legs arched into the back of his head, Hamton was on top of Fifi, and Furrball was lying on top of Elmyra.  
"Get off moi!", Fifi shouted at Hamton, "Get off, vous fat lump of lard!"  
Hamton, still sitting on top of Fifi, replied in a sarcastic tone, "Well, that's a nice thing to say to your ex-boyfriend."  
Suddenly, Fifi kicked Hamton from underneath him with great force. He was sent flying, nearly touching the ceiling, and landed on top of Monty's head just as he stood up.  
"MMMFF!", Monty screamed as the pig landed on him.  
Meanwhile, Furrball & Elmyra both stood up. They turned to each other before Furrball quickly shoved Elmyra to the ground & approached Fifi.  
"Are you okay, Fifi?", he asked.  
"I'm fine, merci", Fifi replied.  
"Are we all good here?", Mr. Wombat asked. Monty finally pulled his head free from under Hamton, and it was completely flat like a pancake. He stuck his thumb in his mouth & blew until his head popped back to normal.  
"Mr. Wombat, what just happened?", Elmyra asked.  
"What eez zhe point of zhis room?", Fifi wondered, "zhere's no way out."  
"Yes there is", Mr. Wombat replied, "right here, throught this door."  
"But that's the same door where we came from", Furrball exclaimed.  
"It is? Are you sure?"  
"Positive."  
"Well, let's see." The candyman then opened the door, which didn't show the room that had the contract, but a totally different room. It showed a really long, dark hallway with lots of doors along both sides.  
The 5 toons couldn't believe what they're seeing as they all exclaimed in surprise & disbelief.  
"Shall we?", Mr. Wombat said.  
"What is this, some kind of a fun house?!", Hamton yelled.  
"Why, having fun?"  
"I've had enough!", Monty shouted, "I'm not going in there!"  
"Come on, Fifi", Furrball spoke up, "let's get the heck out of here."  
"Oh, you can't go that way", the candyman explained as he started down the hallway, "you'll have to go forward to go back. I know it sounds confusing, but you'll get the idea."  
The toons all looked at each other, knowing that the only way out is through. So they all followed the candyman down the hall.  
As they journeyed through the dark corridor, everyone noticed that the walls & ceiling were getting narrower & narrower.  
"Uh, guys", Hamton spoke up, "Is it me, or is the room getting smaller?"  
"Maybe we're getting bigger", Elmyra said as the group reached the end of the hallway, with everyone, including Mr. Wombat, crouching down.  
Next to Mr. Wombat, there was a door that was so small, it looked as if it was big enough for only a mouse to fit in.  
Elmyra giggled as she said, "Look how tiny that door is."  
"Nobody's gonna fit in there", Monty exclaimed.  
"What is this, Alice in Wonderland or something?", Hamton asked.  
Furrball scoffed as he replied, "Yeah right, and I'm the Cheshire Cat."  
Fifi then asked Hamton, "Does zhat make vous Tweedledee or Tweedledum?"  
Furrball, Monty, and Elmyra all started laughing while Hamton glared at Fifi. Even Mr. Wombat cracked a little smile on his face.  
A moment after everyone stopped laughing, Mr. Wombat said, "Y'know, I don't really like snappy comebacks, but that right there...that was funny."  
"Oh, dry up", Hamton mumbled.  
"What was that?", asked Mr. Wombat.  
"Nothing."  
"That's what I thought you said."  
Hamton crossed his arms with an angry expression as Mr. Wombat spoke up again.  
"Now, my dear friends, I want you all to listen carefully. You are about to enter the very heart of this factory. Inside this very room is where all of my dreams become realities, and some of my realities become dreams. It may sound confusing, but, again, you'll get the idea."  
The toons all looked at each other in confusion about what the candyman just said.  
"Alright now", he continued, "where's the key to open this door?" He reached into his pocket & pulled out a large ring with about a hundred different keys on it.  
"That's a lot of keys", said Elmyra.  
"Yeah, but only one will open this door", Mr. Wombat replied. After searching through the keys for a moment, he said, "Wait a minute, wrong pocket."  
He put the keys away & reached into his other pocket. "Ah, here we are", he pulled out a much smaller ring with a very small key that was no bigger than a large toenail.  
He put it into the door & turned it. Suddenly, a panel opened up from above the door, revealing a lever that was pointing to the right.  
"Ladies & gentlemen...", Mr. Wombat started as he grabbed the lever, "boys & girls...", he pulled the lever outward, which triggered a loud CLUNK which made everyone else jump.  
"I give you...", he turned the lever clockwise 90 degrees, which was accompanied by 5 loud clicks, all back-to-back.  
"The Chocolate Room", Mr. Wombat concluded as he pressed the lever down against the wall, which triggered another loud CLUNK.  
Suddenly, the wall in front of them started to sink into the floor, the door disappearing out of sight. At the same time, the walls & ceiling around everyone started moving away, giving everyone room to finally stand up straight again.  
The wall in front continued its descent, with a bright light shining from the opening above it.  
Once it was low enough, everyone all gasped & exclaimed in awe at the sight that greeted their eyes.  
In front of them was a large room that consisted of a large grassy area that had a variety of trees & various plants that all seemed to be growing candy. There were trees that were growing lollipops, vines that were made of licorice, and large mushrooms with white spots that were made of whipped cream.  
As the children stared in awe & excitement, Mr. Wombat said, "After you, mes amis", and extended an arm out toward the room.  
Furrball grabbed Fifi's hand as they led the way, with Hamton, Monty, Elmyra, and Mr. Wombat following behind as the door closed behind them.  
"It's beautiful", Furrball said.  
"Huh?", asked Mr. Wombat, "Oh yeah, it's very beautiful."  
Mr. Wombat then stepped ahead of the group as they all started down a stone path.  
"Welcome to the Chocolate Room, folks", Mr. Wombat said. "How about we start this tour with a little history?" As the group continued down the path, Mr. Wombat continued.  
"This very factory was first being built back in 1964, and construction finished in 1967. It houses many of my fantastic ideas that all came from the top of my head. When the popularity of my creations went up, so did the employment here. Many people wanted to work here in the factory, but I could only have so many employees. Most of them wanted to work here just for the delights of working with me, while others just wanted to know my secrets to success...and use them against me."  
Upon hearing those words, Furrball & Fifi looked up at the candyman; they knew what he was referring to. Fifi asked, "Deed eet involve ozher factories sending een spies to steal your secrets recipies?"  
"Yes", Mr. Wombat replied, sounding quite impressed, "how did you know that?"  
"A friend of ours told us", Furrball explained.  
"Ah, okay."  
The group all continued walking down the stone path & up to a bridge. As they went over, Monty looked down at the river & noticed something strange about it; it wasn't a regular river of water, but instead it was full of something dark brown.  
"Hey, Wombat", Monty said, "is your river polluted or something?"  
"Oh, no, it's not polluted. It's chocolate."  
"That's chocolate?", Elmyra asked.  
"Yep, thousands & thousands of gallons flow through here every day & night."  
"A river...made of CHOCOLATE?", Hamton said as he started drooling at the sight of the endless flow of chocolate, but Fifi elbowed him to snap him out of it. Mr. Wombat then spoke up again.  
"But the most important thing about this river...is this", he turned around, as well as the rest of the group, to a huge chocolate waterfall.  
"This waterfall", he continued, "is one of the most important things here in the entire factory. Can anyone guess why that is?"  
The toons all looked at each other, hoping someone would come up with an answer.  
"Anyone?"  
After a moment, out of the blue, Fifi raised her hand.  
"Ms. La Fume?"  
Everyone turned their heads to the purple skunk, which left her feeling very nervous.  
"Uh...because...umm..."  
"Go on, Fifi", Mr. Wombat said, "don't be shy. Just take a guess."  
Fifi looked back & forth at the heads that were staring at her, not knowing what to say. Finally, she spoke up, saying the first thing that came to her mind.  
"Because...eet...mixes zhe chocolate?"  
"Precisely."  
Fifi gasped in excitement as the rest of the group all stared back at her in awe.  
Furrball laughed as he said, "Good job, Fifi."  
"Wow, lucky guess", Hamton exclaimed.  
"Wha- how did you know that?", Monty asked in amazement.  
"This waterfall", Mr. Wombat continued, "mixes up all the ingredients down at the bottom. And by the way, no other factory in the world mixes chocolate by waterfall. But it's the only way if you want it just right."  
"I see", Furrball said as the group continued looking at the waterfall. After a moment, Mr. Wombat said, "Shall we carry on?"  
As the group made their way over the bridge, Elmyra saw a large, UFO-like object moving over the river.  
"Hey Mr. Wombat, what's that?", she asked, pointing at the device, which started lowering a large, plastic pipe into the river.  
"Ah, this device", the candyman replied, "sucks up some of the chocolate out of the river & carries it away, to the room where I make strawberry-flavored chocolate-coated fudge."  
"Mmm, sounds tres deleecious, no?", Fifi said.  
"It is, it's very delicious."  
The group looked on as the chocolate was being sucked up the pipe for a full minute, before it rose out of the river.


	12. Oompa-Loompas

As the group arrived at the other side of the bridge, Mr. Wombat took his hat off & sat down next to the path.  
"Whew", he exclaimed, "I think it's time we take a break."  
"A break?", asked Furrball, "But sir, we just started."  
"I know, but why not give you children a little fun time? Have a look around, eat what you see."  
"'Eat what you see?'"  
"Sure, everything in this entire room is edible- I mean eatable. You can eat anything in this room. Except me, of course."  
The 5 toons looked around the room before Mr. Wombat said, "So shoo. Go on. Have fun. Eat & forget."  
At that moment, Furrball & Fifi ran off in one direction, while Hamton & Elmyra scampered away in other directions, and Monty stared at Mr. Wombat suspiciously before he walked away. Mr. Wombat set his hat down beside him, picked a blade of grass, and ate it.  
Monty was busy stomping away on a large, pumpkin-shaped candy filled with jell-o, and Elmyra, who was happily skipping after picking a lollipop from a tree, stopped in her tracks as she saw what Monty's doing.  
"Monty, why must you be so mean to that pumpkin?", she asked.  
Monty replied, "Because, Mr. Wombat said 'have fun', and I am having fun." He then continued smashing the pumpkin to smitherins.  
Meanwhile, Hamton, being the pig he is, was hogging away at everything he sees, eating up fudge & whipped cream & even the grass, which tasted like apple-flavored candy.  
"Oh, I am SO in heaven", he exclaimed as he continued his feast. Elsewhere, Furrball & Fifi were running together, seeing what marvelous things there were to see.  
"Hey Fifi, look", Furrball pointed at several large flowers which looked like teacups. The cat & skunk approached the flowers & Fifi took one of them, which had a brown swirl of liquid in it.  
"What's in there?", Furrball asked, in which Fifi took a sip & exclaimed, "Ooh la la!"  
"What is it?"  
"Eet's butterscotch!"  
"Butterscotch? Really?!"  
Furrball took another flower & sipped the butterscotch in the cup.  
"Mmmmmm", he said as he closed his eye & smiled, "I love butterscotch."  
Then Fifi came up with an idea. "Hey Furrball."  
"Hmmm?"  
Fifi then hooked her arm around Furrball's, both still holding their cups, and Furrball knew what she had in mind. They hooked their arms together & took another sip from their cups. As them unhooked their arms, they smiled at each other romantically.  
But the moment was ruined as they covered their ears from a loud, high-pitched scream. Furrball immediately knew where it came from.  
"Elmyra, will you stop...", he started shouting, but Elmyra screamed again in a normal pitch as she ran past Furrball & Fifi in a blink of an eye & hid behind a tree.  
"Screaming?", Furrball finished as he & Fifi looked at Elmyra in confusion.  
"Hey!", Monty shouted from a distance as he approached the group, "What the heck was all the yelling about?"  
Elmyra raised a trembling hand & pointed, "Over there, across the river." The others looked & gasped as they saw a little orange man, with a short tuft of green hair.  
Mr. Wombat, who fell asleep with his hat covering his face, woke up as he heard the children calling his name. They approached him & they all told him what they saw, but the candyman was having a hard time hearing what they're saying.  
"All right, all right, calm down", he said as the children's chatter came to a halt, "I can't understand you when you're all talking at once."  
The toons stood silent as Mr. Wombat continued, "Now, Elmyra, since I assume it was you who was screaming at the top of your lungs, what is it you guys wanted to tell me?"  
"There's this weird thing across the river."  
But Furrball looked & said, "There's two of them."  
"What?!"  
Everyone looked & saw that a second little person appeared across the river, right next to the first one.  
"Zhere's more than two", Fifi exclaimed as a few more of these little people appeared. The children all stepped forward for a closer look, with Mr. Wombat behind them.  
"Are they real people?", Elmyra asked.  
"Of course they are", Mr. Wombat replied, "they're Oompa-Loompas."  
"Oompa-Loompas?" asked Fifi, looking quite confused.  
"Yep, imported all the way from Loompaland."  
"'Loompaland?'", Monty spoke up, "There's no such place."  
"I beg your pardon?"  
"Mr. Wombat, my parents taught me geography, and I'd like to tell you that no such place exists."  
"Well then I'd like to tell you all about it & what a horrible country it is."  
The toons turned to the candyman as he continued.  
"Loompaland is nothing but a large forest filled with some of the most ferocious beasts in the world. The poor little Oompa-Loompas were so small & helpless, they didn't stand a chance to fight for their lives. They were living in constant fear & danger every day, and at least 10 of them get eaten daily."  
Furrball & Fifi looked at each other in confusion. Elmyra raised her hand & asked, "Mr. Wombat, what were you doing in Loompaland anyway?"  
"Well, I was looking for some new exotic ideas & flavors for candies. But I ended up finding the Oompa-Loompas instead. I got to meet their chief & he told me everything about their lives & history. It was quite intriguing. Then I told him, and I quote, 'Come with me to my factory. I'll let you live & even work there, so that you all can live peacefully & safely, and not worry about those Wangdoodles & Hornswogglers & those rotten Vermicious Kenids.'"  
"'Hornswogglers?'", Monty asked, "'Vermicious Kenids?' What kind of nonsense is this?"  
"Uh, you shouldn't mumble, Monty, because I didn't catch what you just said. Anyway, so the chief agreed to take my request & I've moved all of the Oompa-Loompas here in the factory."  
"All of them?", Furrball asked.  
"Yep, the whole entire population. They are very happy to be here, away from all the danger in Loompaland."  
Elmyra then spoke up. "They look so cute. I wanna hug a cute cuddly-wuddly Oompa-Loompa!"  
"Oh brother", Furrball grumbled as he rolled his eyes.  
Fifi then asked Elmyra, "Why do vous have to hug everyzhing zhat you see?"  
"I don't know", Elmyra replied, "but if I can't hug an Oompa-Loompa, I can still hug YOU."  
Elmyra started reaching out for Fifi & Furrball, but Fifi, with an angry expression, quickly wrapped her tail around Elmyra like a snake & lifted her off the ground.  
"If vous lay one finger on me, I weell beat zhe stuffing out of you!"  
But Furrball quickly stepped between the girls & separated them. "Uh, guys, let's not start a fight. We're here to have fun & not beat each other up."  
"He's got a good point", Mr. Wombat said.  
"Fifi, please", Furrball said to his girlfriend, "I know we hate Elmyra, but for the sake of staying in this factory, let's not cause any trouble, okay?"  
Fifi looked angrily at Elmyra, still wrapped in her tail, before she finally said, "Fine, but I weell not put up weeth any more of her, how you say, load of garbage."  
She released Elmyra from her tail as Furrball remained between the two girls, to make sure there wouldn't be any more trouble.  
"Nicely handled, Furrball", Mr. Wombat said, "you sure know how to handle these kind of situations."  
But then, the wombat made a questionable look & said, "Wait a second...someone's missing."  
The toons looked & noticed that someone was indeed missing: Hamton.


	13. Hamton's early exit

The toons & Mr. Wombat looked around for Hamton. No one knew if he left the group during Mr. Wombat's story about the Oompa-Loompas, or if he didn't join the group at all.  
"Hamton?", Fifi called out.  
"Piggy-wiggy?" Elmyra shouted.  
After about a moment, Furrball pointed & shouted, "There he is!"  
Hamton was at the chocolate river.  
"What's he doing?", Monty asked. Hamton was dipping his hands into the river & sipping up the chocolate that he scooped out with his hands.  
"Oh, I am SO TOTALLY in heaven!", he exclaimed.  
"He drinking out of the river", Furrball said. Hearing this made Mr. Wombat suddenly worried.  
"Uh, Hamton", he called out, "my chocolate must remain untouched by human hands...or pig hands, in this case."  
Then suddenly, without warning, the ground crumbled underneath Hamton, and he fell forward into the river. This made everyone, including Mr. Wombat, gasp in terror. Hamton popped his head above the surface & flailed his arms around.  
"Help me!", he screamed.  
"Hamton!", Furrball & Fifi shouted.  
"Piggy-wiggy!", Elmyra cried out  
"My chocolate!", Mr. Wombat yelled out.  
The group ran up to the river & near Hamton, who was struggling to stay above the surface.  
"Help me!", he repeated, "I can't swim!"  
"Hang on, Hamton!" Furrball said as he ran off to find something to help save Hamton.  
"My chocolate!", Mr. Wombat exclaimed, "My beautiful chocolate!"  
"Don't just stand there!", Elmyra screamed, grabbing Mr. Wombat's arm, "Do something!"  
Mr. Wombat replied in a sarcastic, uninterested tone, "Help. Police. Murder."  
The toons looked at him questionably as Mr. Wombat said, "What? You told to do 'something', you didn't specify what that 'something' is."  
Just then, Furrball returned with a large candy cane & held the curvy end out to Hamton.  
"Here Hamton, grab this!"  
Hamton tried to reach out for the candy cane, but it was just out of reach. Furrball was being careful not to fall into the river himself, as he inched his way closer to Hamton.  
Finally, after a few moments, Hamton grabbed the candy cane.  
"I got it!", he called out.  
"Uh, guys?", Monty pointed out toward the river. Hamton & Furrball looked to see a pipe descending down to the river.  
"Oh, no", Fifi said, and as soon as the pipe went in the river, it began sucking up the chocolate.  
Suddenly, Hamton felt himself being pulled away from Furrball & toward the pipe.  
"Uh oh, Furrball!", he yelled out, "Get me out of here!"  
Furrball tried pulling Hamton out, but the candy cane was beginning to slip out of his hands. He quickly extracted his claws into the cane, but then he started being dragged toward the river.  
"Hold on, Hamton!", he shouted, still being dragged toward the river, "Hold...on!"  
Furrball pulled with all his might, but the suction of the pipe was too strong for him, as he felt the edge of the ground under his feet.  
"Fifi, help me!", he called out. Fifi then wrapped her tail around Furrball & began pulling him. It helped a little bit, but it was not enough to pull Hamton out of the river.  
"Don't worry Hamton, we'll save vous!", she shouted, but even with two people trying to pull Hamton out, the pipe was still winning this tug-o-war.  
Furrball & Fifi were being pulled toward the river, until Furrball's feet no longer touched the ground, and was hanging over the river with Fifi holding him.  
"Guys, help!", Furrball & Fifi both called out, and Elmyra & Monty came up & began pulling, managing to bring Furrball back on solid ground.  
The toons were pulling with all the strength they had, but Hamton still remained in the river.  
After about nearly a minute, all of a sudden, Furrball & the group were thrown backward & into the ground, with Furrball on top of Fifi, and Elmyra on top of Monty.  
"What th- get off of me!", Monty exclaimed as he pushed Elmyra off. As Furrball & Fifi sat up, the blue cat looked at his hand & saw the candy cane, but to his horror, the curvy end of it was broken off.  
"Guys!", Hamton shouted, which made Furrball gasp as he & Fifi looked into the river.  
"**HAMTON!**"  
"**HELLLLLP!**"  
Hamton was swirling around the pipe with the chocolate that was being sucked up. The toons ran up to the river & looked down, watching the pig swirl around & around & around the pipe.  
Then, Hamton suddenly disappeared under the chocolate. A moment later, he appeared at the bottom of the pipe, which plugged up the pipe, causing some of the chocolate to rain down upon the pig as he gasped for air.  
"Hamton!", Furrball shouted, "are you all right?!"  
"Help me!", he cried out, but his voice sounded so muffled, they could barely hear him.  
Suddenly, a buzzer went off, and a red light was flashing above the pipe.  
"What's going on?", Monty asked. Mr. Wombat began counting down.  
"10...9...8..."  
"Why are vous counting?", Fifi asked.  
"7...6...5..."  
The toons then heard a rumbling sound, as the pipe began to start shaking, just slightly.  
"4...3...2...1."  
Then suddenly, Hamton shot stright up the pipe, with the chocolate under him.  
"We have lift-off", Mr. Wombat said as the pig traveled up the pipe. As the group watched, Fifi spoke up.  
"I can't believe zhe pipe eez just big enough." But Hamton began slowing down as he got near the center of the pipe.  
"It's not big enough", Furrball exclaimed, "he's slowing down."  
"He's gonna stick", Monty said, and sure enough, Hamton went to a complete stop in the center of the pipe & shouted in pain.  
"I think he has", Elmyra exclaimed, "he blocked the whole pipe."  
"Houston, we have a problem", Mr. Wombat said as Hamton looked down at the group below him in fright. He couldn't move at all, he could only look around at everything below him.  
But then, out of the blue, some faint music is playing. The toons looked around to see where the music was coming from.  
"Look!", Furrball shouted, "The Oompa-Loompas!"  
The Oompa-Loompas all started scattering around the river, quietly chanting along with the music.  
"What are they doing?", Elmyra wondered.  
"Why, I believe they're gonna sing us a little song", Mr. Wombat answered, "It's quite nice too, they haven't had a fresh audience in a long time."  
As the Oompa-Loompas positioned themselves along the river, they all danced in rhythm as they all began singing.

_Hamton J. Pig, Hamton J. Pig, lives up to his name!_  
_Hamton J. Pig, is a big pig, it's his claim to fame!_  
_He's a needy, greedy type,  
he got sucked into the pipe!_  
_But please don't really be alarmed,_  
_Hamton J. Pig won't be harmed,_  
_Hamton J. Pig won't be harmed,_

As the Oompa-Loompas continued dancing, Hamton tried moving around in the pipe, moving upward a tiny bit, before the singing continued.

_He'll just be altered a toony bit_  
_Which will sting, we must admit,_  
_When wheels go round_  
_And hammers do pound _  
_And gears do grind_  
_Then Hamton we'll soon find_  
_That even though he's hard to bear,_  
_He's loved by people everywhere_  
_For who could ever bear a grudge_  
_Against a piece of chocolate **FUDGE?**_

Upon singing the last word, the pipe rumbled until it shot Hamton straight up to the top. The Oompa-Loompas scattered off from the river as the pipe started ascending back up to the top.  
Down below, the toons could see a small window in the large device Hamton is in, which is currently filled with chocolate. As the device moved away, they all briefly saw Hamton at the window, pounding it & shouting for help before disappearing out of sight.  
Meanwhile, Mr. Wombat was clapping away at the Oompa-Loompas' performance.  
"Bravo", he said, "Well done. Aren't they amazing?"  
"Zhey all seem, how you say, well rehearsed, no?"  
After a moment, Furrball spoke up. "Mr. Wombat, is Hamton gonna be okay?"  
"I don't know", Mr. Wombat replied, "but we better act fast, or I could end up with Hamton-flavored chocolate-coated pig."  
He reached into his pocket & took out what appeared to be a dog whistle. He blew into it, which emitted a very high-pitched sound, causing the toons to cover their ears & groan in pain & anger.  
"What was that?!", Monty yelled.  
"Sorry kids", Mr. Wombat replied, "but this is the only way I can summon an Oompa-Loompa."  
And right on cue, an Oompa-Loompa appeared right next to the group. Mr. Wombat leaned toward the tiny man as the toons looked on.  
"I want you to head directly to the fudge room, a little pig got sucked up the pipe. Shut off the fudge room, and be sure you find the pig unscathed & unharmed. Okay?"  
The Oompa-Loompa nodded his head & ran off to the opposite direction.  
"Hey, Mr. Wombat?", Furrball asked.  
"Yeah?"  
"How is Hamton's name in the Oompa-Loompas' song if they-"  
"It's called 'improvisation', my friend. It works out easily for them."  
"That makes no sense", Monty spoke.  
"Uh, once again, you shouldn't mumble, Monty. Speak louder next time. Anyway, let's resume our tour."  
As Mr. Wombat started walking alongside the river with the 4 remaining toons following behind, Fifi spoke up.  
"Furrball, eez Hamton gonna be okay?"  
"I don't know, but why are you concerned about him? I thought you didn't like him anymore."  
"I know, but I don't want to, how you say, hold a grudge against heem at a time like zhis."  
"Oh, okay, that makes sense."  
The cat & skunk continued following the rest of the group, both of them worrying about Hamton's safety & if they're ever gonna see him again.


	14. The boat ride

As the group arrived near the end of the river, Mr. Wombat spoke up.  
"Now, our ride should be here any time now."  
"What ride?", Elmyra asked.  
Mr. Wombat was just about to answer Elmyra's question, but instead he said, "Ah, right on schedule."  
The toons looked & saw what appeared to be a large, pink boat that appeared to be made out of candy.  
Inside the boat, there were about 50 Oompa-Loompas rowing the boat, with an extra one in front, slowly beating on a large drum in rhythm with the rowing.  
"Wow", exclaimed Fifi, "what a pretty boat."  
When the boat came to a complete stop, Furrball spoke up.  
"Are we going on a boat ride, Mr. Wombat?"  
"Indeed we are, my feline friend. All aboard, everyone!"  
As Furrball & Fifi were about to board the boat, Monty rudely stepped in front of them & said, "Ladies first, and this means Elmyra of course."  
Fifi whispered to Furrball, "If she's a lady, zhen I'm a Vermicious Kenid." Furrball giggled as they both hopped aboard the boat.  
Mr. Wombat joined the group & sat next to Furrball & Fifi, with Monty & Elmyra sitting in front of them, facing the opposite direction.  
"I think you guys are gonna like this", Mr. Wombat said.  
Monty began licking the boat, which is indeed made of candy, before Mr. Wombat said, "Hey, Monty, don't lick the boat please, you'll make it sticky. Anyway, off we go!"  
The Oompa-Loompa at the boat's bow started beating on the drum slowly again while the others began rowing the boat down the chocolate river.  
As the boat made its way near the waterfall & under the bridge. Mr. Wombat took a small ladle out of his coat & dipped it into the river.  
Once he took it out, now filled with chocolate, he offered it to Furrball & said, "Here, try some of this."  
Furrball took the ladle & sipped some of the chocolate.  
"Mmmmmm, it's delicious", he said, as he handed it over to Fifi, who sipped the rest of the chocolate.  
"Mmmmm, eet is tres bon."  
As Fifi handed the ladle back to Mr. Wombat, he looked at the cat & skunk curiously, seeing the two of them holding hands.  
"You know, you two have been spending the whole time together. Are you two in a relationship or something?"  
"Oui", Fifi replied, "we are a couple."  
"I see. Would it be polite of me to ask how you two got together?"  
"Well", Furrball said nervously, "it's kind of a long story."  
"Well, it might be interesting to me. After all, it's not often I see a cat & a skunk in a relationship."  
Furrball & Fifi looked at each other for a moment to see who would tell the story to Mr. Wombat. Furrball then spoke up.  
"It all started back in December. Back when Fifi was single & I was a poor, homeless, unlucky alleycat."  
"Really?", Mr. Wombat asked.  
"Yep, and we both had something we desperately wanted; I've always wanted to have a home, and Fifi always wanted to have a lover. And she went through a horrible break-up with Hamton after-"  
"Wait, wait, wait. YOU & Hamton were a couple?", Mr. Wombat asked Fifi.  
"Oui, but I broke up weez him after he betrayed moi."  
"Really? What happened?"  
"He was going out with another girl in school", Furrball answered.  
"Oh. That's bad."  
"I saw everything that happened, and I felt really sorry for Fifi. I wanted to make her happy again.  
"Oui", Fifi then said, "and just days before Christmas, Furrball got moi a beauteeful locket as a present."  
"Oh, that's nice of him", said Mr. Wombat.  
"But zhen, eet gets better."  
"How so?"  
"He asked moi to zhe Christmas Dance & requested my favorite song to be played."  
"How sweet."  
"Yup", Furrball then said, "and after the Dance, when we were at Fifi's house, I told her about my life, how I had no food, no shelter...and no family."  
"Oui", Fifi said, "eet breaks my heart imagining zhe things Furrball had to go through."  
"Awww, poor fella", Mr. Wombat said sadly.  
"But in the end", Furrball continued, "Fifi let me move in with her & finally have a home. And in return, I offered to be her boyfriend, and she said 'yes'. Now we're both very happy."  
"Awww, a happy ending for both of you. You guys must've been lucky to finally get what you both wanted."  
"It wasn't luck that bought us together."  
"Oh?"  
Furrball looked at Fifi with loving eyes & said, "It was true love."  
The cat & skunk held each other softly with smiles on their faces. Mr. Wombat smiled too as he looked at the cat & skunk. He was so distracted by the couple, he didn't notice Monty calling him.  
"Mr. Wombat? Mr. Wombat!"  
"Huh? What?"  
"We're heading to a tunnel."  
"Oh, thank you. Full speed ahead!"  
The Oompa-Loompa at the drum started pounding on it harder & faster, which signaled the other Oompa-Loompas to row faster.  
"How can they see where they're going?", Elmyra asked.  
"They can't", Mr Wombat replied, "there's no knowing where they're going."  
The toons looked at the candyman curiously before he shouted, "Switch on the lights!"  
In the tunnel, the lights turned on, but suddenly, instead of the boat moving forward, it suddenly dropped straight down into a completely different tunnel with a variety of swirling colors illuminating the path.  
The boat was moving so fast down the chocolate rapids that everyone felt the wind blowing into their faces.  
After about a minute of twists & turns, the boat arrived at a large room with many large, round doors placed in various locations.  
"Now", Mr. Wombat spoke up, "we're gonna be passing through many different rooms here, some of which are very important."  
Furrball & Fifi looked at a few of the doors they passed by, which had large, colored words above each of them: DAIRY CREAM, VANILLA CREAM, HAIR CREAM.  
"'Hair Cream?'", Fifi asked Mr. Wombat, "What do vous use hair cream for?"  
"Well, for my hair, of course", he replied, "I need to look good for you people, don't you think?"  
As the boat continued down the stream, Furrball saw an open door. Inside there were a few Oompa-Loompas hitting a cow suspended in mid-air on a harness with bullwhips.  
"Whipped cream!", he exclaimed.  
"Yep, precisely", Mr. Wombat replied.  
Elmyra turned to the candyman & said, "I don't get it."  
"Well, for your information, Elmyra, whipped cream isn't whipped cream at all unless it's been whipped with whips. Get the idea here?"  
"Ooookay", Elmyra replied as she turned back slowly with a confused look, not knowing what Mr. Wombat meant by that.  
As the boat traveled past several more doors, Mr. Wombat spoke up.  
"Stop the boat! We have arrived at our destination."  
As the boat came to a halt, the toons saw that they're at a large, round door, much like the others, and above it read 3 large words illuminated in light blue: **THE INVENTING ROOM.**


	15. The Inventing Room

As the group made their way off the boat & to the gigantic door, Mr. Wombat pulled out his keys & began sorting through them.  
"Why is the door so big?", Monty asked, noticing how the door was about 15 feet in diameter. Mr. Wombat then began speaking.  
"Puis-je avoir l'attention de tout le monde s'il vous plaît?"  
Furrball knew right away that he was speaking French. He turned to Fifi & asked, "What is he saying, Feef?"  
"He said, 'May I have everybody's attention please?'"  
"C'est une des chambres les plus importants de toute l'usine."  
"'Zhis eez one zhe most important rooms of the entire factory.'"  
"Mesdames et Messieurs, Le 'Inventing Room.'"  
"'Ladies & gentlemen, The "Inventing Room."'"  
As Mr. Wombat finally found the key to unlock the door, he spoke again, this time in English.  
"Now remember, I don't want anyone horsing around. No touching, no tasting, and no telling."  
"'No telling' what?", Elmyra asked.  
"You'll see. All of my most secret inventions are being created in this room. I'm very serious about nobody else knowing what's in here, but I'm letting you all in here because I trust you guys. So, whatever you do, do not touch a thing. Comprende?"  
The toons all nodded their heads, showing that they understand the candyman's rules.  
"Alright, let's go in."

The Inventing Room was an enormous room filled with different sorts of giant machinery scattered all around the room. There were a bunch of mechanical whirring & clanking going on, as the Oompa-Loompas were busy at work with these various machines.  
The toons followed Mr. Wombat into the room & looked around, seeing all there is that meets the eye.  
"Wow", said an astonished Furrball, "this place is huge."  
"Indeed it is", Mr. Wombat replied as he turned to the group. "Now you may have a look around this room & see all there is to see, but remember, don't touch ANYTHING."  
Monty & Elmyra quickly split from the group & ran off to different places, but as Furrball & Fifi were about to run off, Mr. Wombat quickly grabbed their tails before they even took a step.  
"Except for you two", he said, "I would like you to come with me."  
He beckoned them with both his index fingers as he walked off to one direction. The cat & skunk looked questioningly at each other as they follow the wombat.  
A moment later, they arrived at what appeared to be a weird looking workbench.  
"What is it, Mr. Wombat?", Furrball asked.  
"I would like to show you guys THIS." He took out what appeared to be a piece of chocolate shaped like a heart.  
"What's that?"  
"This is 'Chocolat de L'amour', which means..."  
"'Chocolate of Love!'", Fifi chirped in excitement.  
"Yes, 'Chocolate of Love.' This is the perfect Valentine's Day gift to give to your lover. The way it works is that you & your lover will each take a bite, and in the next 5 seconds the two of you will fall madly in love with each other, and still have complete control over yourselves."  
"Ooh!", Fifi exclaimed, "Sounds tres clever, no?"  
"It is, I think it's very clever, but the problem is...I'm not sure if it works or not. Which is why..."  
"Which is why you wanted us, so we can test them", Furrball said.  
"Exactly. Since you guys are indeed a couple, I'd figure you two would be the perfect test subjects to try out the Chocolat de L'amour. So, here's one for you...", he gave the chocolate to Furrball, then gave another one to Fifi, "and one for you."  
The cat & skunk looked at their pieces of chocolate happily.  
"Ready Fifi?"  
"Oui, ready."  
At that moment, they both ate their chocolate pieces.  
"Alright", said Mr. Wombat, "now face each other."  
Furrball & Fifi did as they were told & turned toward each other.  
"In a moment, you should feel a bit...tingly."  
At first nothing happened, but after a few seconds passed, Furrball & Fifi started feeling tingly as they looked into each other's eyes. Then they smiled romantically.  
"Are you feeling it?", Mr. Wombat asked.  
"Oui", Fifi replied in a loving tone, "I'm feeling eet."  
"Me too", Furrball said in a similar tone.  
"Yes!", Mr. Wombat exclaimed in silenced excitement, "It's working. Now they're finally ready to be sold in stores."  
The cat & skunk continued looking at each other lovingly as Fifi wrapped her tail around Furrball, who began purring.  
"I am enjoying zhis so much", Fifi said.  
"I'm glad you are", Mr. Wombat replied with a smile, "I knew you two would like this."  
After a moment, while still facing toward Fifi & smiling, Furrball asked, "Mr. Wombat, is there a way to stop the effect?"  
"As a matter of fact, there is."  
The candyman reached to his workbench & grabbed a spray bottle full of water. He sprayed twice & Fifi's face, then twice at Furrball's.  
"Ack!", Fifi shouted, "Mon goodness!"  
"Aah!", Furrball exclaimed as he blew a raspberry. He shook his head while Fifi wiped her face with her tail.  
Suddenly, without warning, a loud BANG went off, which startled the group, followed by a bunch of metal clattering & what sounded like Monty shouting in pain.  
"Oh my gosh", Mr. Wombat panicked as he started skittering off to where the noise came from.  
"What in zhe world?", Fifi wondered as she & Furrball followed the wombat.  
They turned a corner to see Monty, lying on a knocked over pot rack, all dazed & boggle-eyed.  
The cat & skunk gasped as they rushed over to Monty & knelt beside him  
"Are vous okay?", Fifi asked, but Monty replied by blowing lightly at Fifi's direction, which caused steam to blow out of his mouth & into her face.  
The purple skunk made a quick noise of disgust as she quickly closed her mouth & eyes shut.  
"Boy, that's great stuff", Monty said in a dizzy tone. Fifi made a single cough before Monty shook his head & asked Mr. Wombat, "What the heck was that stuff, anyway?"  
"Exploding candy, perfect for your enemies."  
"I can see that", Furrball said.  
"Ah, shut up!", Monty told the blue cat before he smacked him flat in the face with a pot.  
"MMMGGHH! Why you-!"  
Suddenly, Furrball jumped onto Monty & started beating him up in a dust cloud. Fifi quickly stepped away as Furrball is heard yowling & hissing, with Monty shouting & yelling in pain.  
"Alright, break it up, break it up!", Mr. Wombat said as he approached & quickly grabbed Furrball, picking him up off Monty.  
In the wombat's hands, Furrball was still violently waving & swinging has arms around with his claws extracted while meowing & hissing furiously at Monty.  
Mr. Wombat, still holding the raging cat, spoke up.  
"You know, I barely remember someone saying that we're here to have fun, and not BEAT each OTHER UP!"  
Upon finishing his sentence, he shook the cat 3 times, causing him to stop & have the same dizzy look Monty had moments ago.  
"Leetle boys are such children", Fifi said.  
Suddenly, an alarm went off as red lights started flashing. The group looked to see what was happening, but Mr. Wombat knew what it was.  
"Elmyra?!"  
The little girl popped her head out from behind a machine, causing Mr. Wombat to panic once again.  
"No!", he shouted as he released Furrball & turned to Elmyra, "G-get away from there!"  
As he ran off, Furrball hung in mid-air for a second before he looked down & made a face of shock before he zipped straight to the floor in an instant. Fifi helped him up as they followed Mr. Wombat with Monty following behind.  
"Outoftheway, outoftheway!", Mr. Wombat quickly said as he pulled Elmyra away from the machine & pressed a button, which turned off the lights & deactivated the alarm. He then sighed in relief.  
"Please forgive me, but this is one of the most important machines in the entire room. Which is why I wanted NOBODY to touch ANYTHING."  
He looked sternly at Elmyra, who lowered her head in shame.  
"What does this machine do, Mr. Wombat?", Furrball asked.  
"You guys wanna see?"  
As the kids all nodded their heads, the candyman pressed a button, activating the machine. There were lights blinking & mechanical churning as the toons watched in amazement.  
"Come over here", said Mr. Wombat as he escorted the kids to the end of the machine, where a small bowl is placed.  
After about a minute, several round objects were ejected from the machine & into the bowl.  
"And, presto!", Mr. Wombat said as he took out one of the round objects.  
"What are those?", Elmyra asked.  
"I'm glad you asked, these are Everlasting Gobstoppers."  
"What are zhey called?", Fifi asked.  
"Everlasting Gobstoppers", Mr. Wombat repeated slowly.  
"'Everlasting Gobstoppers?'"  
"That's right, these are my most secret inventions. They may look like regular jawbreakers, the only difference is that you can suck on them all you want, and they will never get any smaller."  
"I want an Everlasting Gobstopper!", Elmyra exclaimed.  
"Oui, me too", Fifi then said.  
"Ditto", Monty spoke.  
"And me", said Furrball.  
"Alright", the candyman replied as he handed out the candies one by one.  
"One for you, one for you, and one for you."  
He gave a Gobstopper to everyone except Furrball.  
"Uh, what about me?", he asked.  
"Oh, and one for Furrball", he gave a Gobstopper to the blue cat, "Sorry about that."  
As the toons looked at the candy given to them, Elmyra took a bite, then clutched her mouth in pain.  
"Silly girl", Mr. Wombat said, "These are not for chewing. If you tried to chew on these, you'd break every little tooth in your mouth."  
The wombat turned away & walked off, with the toons following.  
"Hey Fifi, look", Furrball said as he held up the Everlasting Gobstopper, "my Gobstopper is purple, just like you."  
"Mine eez blue, see?", Fifi replied as she showed Furrball her Gobstopper.  
"Wow, what a coincidence."  
"I'm saving mine for later."  
"Me too."  
They put their Gobstoppers in their "pockets" as they continued walking with the group. They followed Mr. Wombat to a different workbench.  
"Now this", he took a small black candy from the workbench, "is Hair Toffee. Pop one of these in your mouth, and in just a few hours you'll grow a full head of hair, and a moustache, and a beard."  
"Who would want a beard?", Monty asked, sounding a bit unamused.  
"Well, let me guess. Beatniks are a good example. And there's also folk singers, motorcycle riders-"  
"Okay, okay, I get the point."  
"I knew you would. However, it's not quite right yet, because one of the Oompa-Loompas tried some the other day and, well, let's just say he got in a bit of a...hairy situation."  
He looked over to his right, then said, "Ah, there he is now."  
The toons looked & opened their eyes wide in shock as they saw what appeared to be a large, green wig moving toward them.  
"How are you doing today?", Mr. Wombat asked, in which two arms stuck out from the large green hairball with their thumbs up in response.  
"Alright then. Let's move on, shall we?"  
The candyman continued walking on, with the toons following behind.


	16. Goodbye Fifi :'(

The group arrived at another different machine, slightly bigger than the one that creates the Everlasting Gobstoppers. Mr. Wombat spoke up.  
"Now here's something I'd like to show you. This is one of my latest inventions."  
He pulled a lever placed next to the large contraption, which immediately activated.  
As the machine was working, the toons saw a bowl full of tomatoes being crushed, they could smell some barbecued meat being cooked, and they heard what sounded like a pie splatting.  
After about a minute, the machine started extending a long metallic arm, which got thinner as it stretched out. As it finished extending, a thin strip of gum popped out, accompanied by a DING sound.  
"Voila!", Mr. Wombat said as he pulled out the gum.  
"That's it?", Monty asked, sounding unamused again.  
"Yep. Do you know what this is?"  
"Eet's gum", Fifi answered.  
"Yep, but this isn't any ordinary type of gum."  
"No?"  
"This is the most amazing, the most fabulous, and the most sensational gum in all of Acme Acres!"  
"How so, Mr. Wombat?", Furrball asked.  
"This piece of gum is a three-course dinner all by itself. For starters: tomato soup, for main course: roast beef WITH a baked potato, and for dessert: blueberry pie."  
The toons all responded with their own individual reactions.  
"Sounds great!", Elmyra exclaimed.  
"It sounds weird", Monty said, still unamused  
"Sounds really cool", Furrball said, quite astonished  
As for Fifi, she couldn't believe what she just heard. A three-course meal in a strip of gum? None of this makes sense to her.  
She stared at the gum in Mr. Wombat's hand. She's curious to know how the gum works.  
"Can I see eet?", she asked, holding out a hand.  
"Yes, you may", Mr. Wombat replied as he lowered his hand to give Fifi the gum, but at the very last second, he quickly pulled the gum away.  
"But...I must warn you. I'm still working out some complications with this gum, so it's not ready yet. So whatever you do, do NOT, for whatever reason, chew this piece of gum."  
"I won't, I promeese."  
"Okay, here you go."  
The candyman finally gave the gum to the purple skunk. She looked at it curiously in her hand for a moment before she turned to Furrball.  
"Don't vous think zhis eez strange, Furrball?"  
"I don't know", Furrball replied as he took the gum from Fifi & looked at it, "it sounds like a genius idea, but I don't know how this piece of gum can be a full serving of tomato soup, roast beef, and blueberry pie."  
Furrball gave the gum back to Fifi as he concluded his sentence.  
"Oui, eet eez...strange."  
At that moment, while staring at the gum again, she could hear Furrball's voice echoing in her head.  
"_Tomato soup...roast beef...blueberry pie..._"  
She could also hear Mr. Wombat's voice too.  
"_Three-course dinner all by itself...all by itself..._"  
Hearing those voices made Fifi lick her lips as she started sweating.  
"Oooohh...", she started in a desperate tone. "I know you told moi not to, but I have a, how you say, powerful urge to chew zhis."  
"Well, keep fighting it", Mr. Wombat replied, "you're doing a fine job."  
Fifi still looked nervously at the gum, voices still echoing in her head.  
"_Tomato soup...roast beef...tomato soup...blueberry pie...Three-course dinner..._"  
At that moment, Fifi finally snapped.  
"Doh! I can't fight eet any longer!"  
"Don't-", Mr. Wombat started, but it was too late; Fifi just popped the gum in her mouth & started chewing, immediately closing her eyes & mouth tightly, knowing that she will regret this. Mr. Wombat bit down on his finger nervously as he looked on.  
The others looked at the purple skunk curiously as she continued chewing the gum slowly, her face still closed. Then in a moment, Fifi opened one eye, then made a face of amazement.  
"Ooh la la!", she exclaimed.  
"What is it?", Furrball asked.  
"Eet's tomato soup. I can feel eet running down my throat."  
"Really?"  
"Oui. Eet's hot & creamy & tres deleecous."  
"That's great, now spit it out", Mr. Wombat said quickly, still feeling a bit nervous. Monty began speaking.  
"Hey skunk, I think you oughta-"  
"Wait!", Fifi interrupted, "Eet's changing."  
"To?", asked Furrball.  
"Roast beef, weeth a baked potato!"  
Furrball elbowed Fifi & said, "With sour cream?" The cat & skunk both laughed happily.  
Furrball turned to Mr. Wombat & said, "This is a great invention you have here, Mr. Wombat."  
"I know, but I'm just scared about the-"  
"Blueberry pie & ice cream! Yum!", Fifi chirped excitedly.  
"That part", Mr. Wombat concluded.  
"Why?", Monty asked. He then felt a hand grab his shirt. He looked & saw Elmyra pointing at Fifi with a look of horror on her face.  
As Monty saw what Elmyra saw, he made the same exact face as he & Elmyra took a couple steps back.  
Furrball's happy face turned into a concerned look as Fifi looked at the human toons & said, "What?"  
Elmyra & Monty still looked at Fifi in shock & terror.  
"What eez it?", Fifi asked.  
Furrball placed a hand on Fifi's shoulder & turned her toward him, then gasped in shock at what he saw: Fifi's pink nose turned completely purple.  
"What's wrong, mon amore?", Fifi asked in confusion.  
"Your nose has turned purple."  
"What do you mean?", Fifi asked as she placed her hand on her nose. At that moment, her face was beginning to change color, starting from her nose & spreading across.  
"Fifi, you're...you're turning...violet!"  
"What?!", Fifi asked with a worried tone. She shoved past Monty & Elmyra, up to a machine that showed her reflection.  
She could tell that Furrball's telling the truth; her whole face is now completely blue.  
"Oh my gosh! My face!", she screamed as she placed her hands on her face. Furrball turned to Mr. Wombat.  
"Mr. Wombat, what's happening to her?"  
"Well, I said it wasn't ready yet. It goes a little funny when it reaches the dessert. It's the blueberry pie that does it. I am terribly, terribly sorry."  
The candyman made a face of regret & worry as Furrball turned back to Fifi, whose upper body was turning blue. She looked at her arms in fear & followed the blue color trailing up her arms & to her hands.  
Mr. Wombat placed his cane in front of the three remaining toons & said, "Just a heads up, you might wanna stand back for this next part."  
Furrball looked up at the wombat in confusion & worry. "The n-next part?"  
He looked back down at Fifi as he, Monty, and Elmyra were being pushed away from the color-changing skunk.  
Fifi looked down to see that her legs are now turning blue. She lifted up a foot & saw that the underside changed too. She then grabbed her tail & saw just in time the tip of her tail changing as well.  
The toons looked to see that Fifi's purple & white fur turned blue & light blue, and her light purple hair turned to indigo.  
"Furrball?", Fifi said with a scared voice & a look of horror, "What's happening to me?"  
At that moment, Fifi placed her hands on her stomach & groaned as she felt a weird feeling in her guts & a gurgling sound was being heard.  
She looked down to see her belly bloating, then looked back up at the toons, who looked on in confusion, Monty & Elmyra looking at each other questionably.  
But then she looked down to see her upper body begin swelling, then lurched backward a bit as she felt her rump swell up too.  
"Oh mon goodness...oooohhh...", she said as she looked behind her.  
"She's swelling up", Monty said, with a shocked facial expression.  
"Like a blueberry", Elmyra said, mirroring Monty's expression.  
Fifi looked back at the group as she continued swelling, her body now a large teardrop shape.  
"Fifi?", Furrball asked, wondering what is going on.  
As Fifi continued swelling, she suddenly felt a weird feeling in her face. At that moment, she placed her hands on her face & moaned as her cheeks grew bigger than her eyes before they stopped.  
The toons looked on at the inflating skunk, as she was growing taller than the rest, soon casting a large shadow over the horrified group.  
"Guys...help moi", Fifi said in a worried tone, as she placed her hands on her swelling body & tried to stop it, but to no avail.  
Down below, Monty & Elmyra were holding each other in fear, while Furrball was cowering behind Mr. Wombat.  
As the swelling continued & the gurlging sound grew louder, Fifi felt her feet lift off the ground. And at that moment, she felt her arms & legs inflate into her body. A moment later, the swelling & gurgling finally came to a stop.  
In less than a minute, Fifi, who was once a small purple skunk, has now become a giant, 15-foot blue ball, with her hands, feet, tail, and her slightly inflated head sticking out of her rounded body.  
She moaned in pain as her eyes were cocked-eyed from her head resting uncomfortably on top of her rotund body, her cheeks pressed against her face. She felt as if she was being strangled.  
Down below, Furrball, staring in shock at the blue ball that is his girlfriend, turned to the candyman.  
"Mr. Wombat...wh-what just happened? What happened to my girlfriend?"  
"Well, the thing is...when the gum reaches the dessert, it causes the chewer's skin to turn blue & fills up their body with juice."  
"Juice?!"  
"Yep."  
"Wait a second", Monty spoke up, "how could one little piece of gum hold that much juice?"  
"I honestly have no idea. So anyway, because of that, the blue skin & the juice, Ms. La Fume has now become...a blueberry."  
The group looked back at the inflated skunk, who looked left & right at her body. She couldn't turn her head at all. She tried stretching her hands out from her body, using all her might, but since her arms were gone, she was unsuccessful.  
"I don't understand this", Mr. Wombat continued, "I've tried it 20 times in the testing room...", the toons turned to Mr. Wombat in confusion, "on 20 Oompa-Loompas, and every single one turned into a blueberry. It's so weird."  
Fifi then tried to stretch her feet out, trying to touch the ground. But her feet were too high up, and because her legs were gone too, she failed that as well. She then made a sad face of defeat. She couldn't move or do anything. She was helpless.  
Furrball then spoke up as he grabbed Mr. Wombat's arm.  
"You got to do something, quick!"  
"We'll, there's only one thing to do."  
He bought out his whistle & blew into it, causing the toons to cover their ears, and made Fifi grunt & moan in pain.  
At that moment, some music started playing, which sounded different than the music that played earlier when Hamton got sucked up the pipe.  
The Oompa-Loompas gathered around the round blue skunk. Furrball knew that they're gonna sing another song.  
"They'll know what to do", Mr. Wombat said.

_Here is the story of Fifi La Fume_  
_Who never chewed gum, yet it was her doom_  
_She absolutely saw chewing as wrong_  
_And stayed away from it all day long_

Fifi let out a sharp squeal as she felt many tiny hands push her rear from underneath. And at that moment, she began rolling forward.  
"Whoa!", she cried as Mr. Wombat pushed the toons out of the way, the Oompa-Loompas rolling Fifi around the room as they continued singing.

_Until she won her ticket of gold_  
_Of which there only were five sold._  
_There was candy and sweets everywhere_  
_That she looked in Wombat's lair_  
_Mr. Wombat said "Don't chew the gum",_  
_But Fifi La Fume really wanted some_

"Furrball!", Fifi cried out before being rolled upside-down, her head getting squished under the massive weight of her body.  
The group all grimaced as that happened, Furrball making a face of fear. Once they saw Fifi's face again, she was boggle-eyed as she once again moaned in pain.

_So she reached out, grabbed and popped it in_  
_And liked the taste, but to her chagrin_  
_She bloated and floated and grew and grew_  
_And all her skin turned very blue!_  
_And that is why we tell you, chum,_  
_Beware the doom in chewing gum!_  
_Chewing, chewing, chewing gum_  
_Chewing, chewing, chewing gum..._

"Stop, enough!", Fifi yelled out as the Oompa-Loompas continued rolling Fifi around, repeating the last two lines.  
"**MR. WOMBAT!**", Fifi screamed out loud, which stopped the Oompa-Loompas singing & made them stop rolling Fifi.  
One Oompa-Loompa stepped in front of Mr. Wombat, waiting for an order. The toons looked on as the candyman spoke up.  
"I want you to roll Ms. La Fume into the boat & take her to the Juicing Room at once."  
After the Oompa-Loompa nodded his head, he turned to the others & signaled them to open the door.  
Furrball's body filled with horror as he turned to Mr. Wombat.  
"'The Juicing Room?' Why are they taking her there?"  
"To squeeze her, of course. We gotta get that juice out of her as soon as possible."  
Hearing those words made Furrball more terrified. As soon as possible? Does that mean they need to hurry? What would happen if they didn't get the juice out in time? Would Fifi be a blueberry forever? Will she get bigger until she explodes?  
As Furrball was just about to speak up & ask those questions, a voice cried out.  
"Furrball."  
Furrball turned to where the voice came from. It was Fifi's. He looked to see her looking down at Furrball with scared, watery eyes as she started crying.  
"Help me...please."  
At that moment, the Oompa-Loompas started rolling the large round skunk toward the door.  
Furrball started to run after Fifi, but Mr. Wombat stuck his cane out in front of him, stopping him in his tracks.  
"Fifi", Furrball said in a worried tone, reaching a hand out toward his girlfriend.  
Fifi was heard crying as she was being rolled to the door. But once at the door, she got stuck inside.  
The toons looked on as the Oompa-Loompas spent a few moments trying to push Fifi through the door before they exhausted themselves tired.  
"Uh oh", Mr. Wombat said, "looks like we got another problem."  
"Is she stuck?", Elmyra asked.  
"She's not stuck", Monty replied, "she's too big to fit through the door."  
Furrball looked at the top of the door & saw her tail sticking out from between her body & the doorframe. Mr. Wombat also saw the problem, then looked down at the blue cat.  
He knew he wanted to help his girlfriend. He lifted up his cane, allowing Furrball to walk forward.  
As the blue cat approached the giant fruit, he looked up at Fifi's crying face. Her eyes were closed as she cried tears of fear & sadness, her tears trailing down her large cheeks. She opened her eyes & saw Furrball standing down in front of her.  
After a moment, Furrball looked down at his paws. He wanted to help her through the door, but he's worried that he might end up popping her just by pushing too hard.  
Slowly, he lifted his trembling hands & placed them on Fifi. He looked back up at Fifi's face & noticed that her eyes also changed to blue.  
After a moment of hesitation, he began pushing, trying to squeeze Fifi through the door, but she wouldn't budge.  
"Help me", he said to the Oompa-Loompas, who got up & assisted the blue cat. After a few attempts, they finally got Fifi through the door with a deep FWOOMP!  
"Yay!", the Oompa-Loompas cheered as they resumed rolling Fifi to the boat outside the room. Furrball stood watching as Fifi was being rolled into darkness & out of sight.  
He looked down in sadness, and saw a small, blue ball by his foot. He picked it up & saw that it was Fifi's Everlasting Gobstopper.  
It was blue colored like Furrball's fur, but it's also blue like Fifi is now. It's also round like Fifi. As Furrball realized this, he made a look of surprise. Did Mr. Wombat already know? He couldn't have...  
As the group approached the blue cat, Furrball immediately turned & jumped onto Mr. Wombat's chest, grabbing his shirt.  
"Please, Mr. Wombat", Furrball exclaimed, "PLEASE tell me Fifi will be okay! I don't want anything else happening to her!"  
"My dear boy, calm down", Mr. Wombat replied as he grabbed Furrball & set him down, "There's is nothing to worry about. Once the Oompa-Loompas get Ms. La Fume into the Juicing Room, everything will be all right."  
"Are you sure?"  
"Positive. Now, let's get a move on."  
As Elmyra & Monty followed the wombat, Furrball looked down sadly at Fifi's Gobstopper. Despite what Mr. Wombat just told him, he's still feeling worried sick. He can feel Fifi's fear & sadness in him. He wanted to be on that boat more than anything. To be with Fifi. To be there for her in the Juicing Room.  
"Furrball!", shouted Mr. Wombat, "Come on!"  
Realizing he's keeping the group waiting, Furrball ran off & followed the group down a hallway, wondering if he will ever see Fifi again.


	17. Fizzy lifting drinks

As Elmyra, Monty, and Furrball followed Mr. Wombat down a corridor, the candyman spoke up.  
"Now, without the boat, we'll have to double-time our pace to keep up with our schedule."  
"Mr. Wombat", Monty spoke, "I have a question."  
"Go on."  
"Why are you letting people into the factory?"  
"So they could see inside the factory, of course."  
"But why only 5 people? And what about the prize? What is it & who gets it?"  
"Well, the prize is actually a SUR-prise. And it all depends on what happens at the end of the tour."  
"Mr. Wombat?", Elmyra asked.  
"Yes?"  
"Will the stinky kitty-witty always be a blueberry?"  
"Well, first of all, Fifi is a skunk, not a cat. Just because she has a cat for a boyfriend doesn't mean she is one. Second, no, she won't be a blueberry forever. Why do you ask?"  
"I don't know, she looks all cuddly-wuddly as a big rolly-polly blueberry."  
"You have a habit of hugging all things cute & cuddly, don't you?"  
"Just ignore her", Monty said, "she does it all the time."  
While the trio were chatting, Furrball was trailing behind them, sadly looking down at Fifi's Everlasting Gobstopper in his paws, not listening to the conversation going on in front of him. He's still feeling worried sick about Fifi. He really wished he was with her right now.  
But he wasn't paying attention to where he was walking & bumped right into Mr. Wombat, who stopped walking altogether.  
"Oh!", Mr. Wombat exclaimed, "Careful, dear boy."  
Furrball looked & saw that they were at a window showing a room of candies being processed.  
"Now these", the candyman said, "are square candies that look round."  
The trio of toons saw a bunch of cube-shaped candies on a conveyor belt, with the Oompa-Loompas painting a single large dot on both sides, using different colors for each candy.  
As the toons looked on, Monty spoke up.  
"They don't look round to me."  
"Me neither", Elmyra said.  
"Well, they're not actually round, they're supposed to LOOK round."  
"But they don't LOOK round to me", Monty whined.  
"Well, you're not looking hard enough."  
As the candyman continued his argument with Monty, Furrball looked at the candy & saw that they are indeed round. To him, that is.  
But he saw one candy with a perfectly round blue dot. Seeing this blue dot made Furrball immediately worried, as an image of Fifi being a blueberry appeared in his head.  
"Fifi", Furrball said, placing a paw on the glass, looking sadly at the square candy with the blue dot. Mr. Wombat took notice almost right away.  
"Uh, let's move on, shall we?"  
The wombat continued on down the corridor, with Monty & Elmyra following, but Furrball, not knowing he's been left behind, continued staring at the blue dot, still thinking worriedly about his girlfriend.  
"Furrball!", Mr. Wombat called out, which made the blue cat turn & see that he was all by himself. He quickly scampered up to the group before they continued on.  
After about a minute of walking, they approached a wall with a variety of tiny fruits printed on it as Mr. Wombat turned to stop the group.  
"Wait a sec", he signaled, "here's something I gotta show you. Lickable wallpapers. Not only can you see these fruits on the wall, but you can taste them too. Lick an orange, it'll taste like an orange. Or a pineapple, it'll taste like a pineapple. Go ahead, try it."  
The kids all went up to the wall & began licking the various fruits, and they indeed could taste them.  
"Mmmm, I taste strawberries", Monty exclaimed.  
"I taste grapes", Elmyra chirped.  
"I taste...blueberries", Furrball said, making a worried face as he finished his sentence, as the same image of Fifi popped into his head again.  
"Okay, moving on", Mr. Wombat quickly said, pulling Furrball's arm, causing him to quickly meow in pain & surprise, as they continued down the corridor, with the human toons following behind.  
After another moment of walking, they were approaching a room as Mr. Wombat said, "You guys are gonna love this."  
They stepped in, and saw a round machine in the center of the room that was shooting thousands of bubbles, which floated around all over the place.  
"Ooh, bubbles!", Elmyra chirped.  
"Yep, bubbles everywhere", the candyman replied, "but not a drop to drink...yet."  
"What are you making?", Monty asked.  
"Fizzy lifting drinks", the wombat showed everyone a shelf full of soda bottles, "Once you drink them, they'll fill you with gas & lift you up in the air like a balloon."  
The toons looked up to see a big, bright shaft in the ceiling, which seemed to go up for miles.  
"Ooh, that quite high", Elmyra said.  
"However", Mr. Wombat continued, "I shouldn't let you guys drink them yet."  
"Why not?", Monty asked.  
"They are too strong. There'll be children floating all over the place."  
Monty & Elmyra started begging Mr. Wombat to try the fizzy lifting drinks.  
"Let us have a sip. Just one sip."  
"Aw, come on Mr. Wombat, please?"  
"No, no, no", the candyman replied, "I can't let anyone have any, now come along."  
As the toons followed Mr. Wombat, he spoke up again.  
"Nothing personal, but I just can't risk losing any more children."  
As soon as Furrball heard that line, he stopped in his tracks.  
A thought struck him; since Hamton & Fifi were removed from the tour, Furrball figured he'll remove himself by drinking the fizzy lifting drinks, so he can be with Fifi again.  
He peeked out the doorway & looked both ways to make sure no one was there & that he was alone. He quickly ran back in & took a bottle from the shelf. He popped the cork off, which shot around the room like a bullet, nearly hitting the blue cat at one point, before it stopped.  
The bottle in Furrball's hand erupted with tiny bubbles, before the blue cat blew them off & looked at the bottle, seeing the clear liquid sloshing inside. It looked like water, but Furrball knew it would taste nothing like water.  
Quickly, he placed the lip of the bottle into his mouth & tilted his head back, chugging down the drink until the bottle was completely empty.  
"Ahhhhh...", he said as he finished drinking, bubbles spewing out from his mouth. He looked down at the bottle as he smacked his lips.  
"Mmm, not bad", he said, before setting the bottle aside.  
He looked down & placed his hands on his stomach, feeling a gassy build-up inside of him. He feels the drink doing its work, but after about a moment, nothing happened.  
He looked up & simply shrugged. Just as soon as he was about to leave the room, just as he was taking his first step, he felt himself lift off the ground & flip forward.  
"Whoah!", he shouted, floating up into the air & into the ceiling. He extracted his claws & grabbed on to the edge of the ceiling, underneath the shaft.  
"Mr Wombat!", Furrball called out before he looked down "Oh boy. I'm in big trouble."  
Suddenly, he felt himself feeling a bit heavier. He was determined to let go, to see if he'll fall back down.  
Slowly, he released one hand from the ceiling, before cautiously removing the other. He wasn't going up or down, but he stayed exactly where he was in the air, levitating freely.  
A smile appeared on Furrball's face as he started to enjoy himself. He started laughing in joy, he felt like he was swimming in mid-air.  
"This is fun", he said. He kicked himself upward, traveling up the shaft.  
"Wheeeee!", he exclaimed. He continued up the shaft, doing flips & pretending he's flying.  
"Man, I wish Fifi was here, she would've loved this."

Meanwhile, in another room of the factory, Mr. Wombat was showing Monty & Elmyra several small balconies that each had a large white goose, all of them twice the size of a regular goose. Mr. Wombat spoke up.  
"These are the geese that lay golden chocolate eggs. They lay several eggs a day. And you're probably wondering why they're laying eggs as of right now. It's because they're laying overtime for Easter."  
"But Easter isn't until-", Monty started, before Mr. Wombat quickly covered his mouth.  
"Shhhh...they don't know that. I'm trying to get a head start for this year."  
As the candyman looked back at the little boy, he noticed someone's missing.  
"Hang on a minute", he said as he released Monty, "Where's Furrball?"  
The group looked around & saw that Furrball was indeed missing.

Back in the other room with the fizzy lifting drinks, Furrball was still floating up the shaft with his eyes closed, lying backward with his head resting on his hands, as if he was lying on a hammock.  
Suddenly, he felt air rushing past him upward. He opened his eyes to see the bubbles around him being sucked up into a large fan at the end of the shaft.  
He closed his eyes, but then he opened them in alarming shock as he realized he was being sucked toward the fan. Quickly, he flipped himself over & tried to "swim" back down to the ground, but it was no help.  
"Mr. Wombat!", he called out, flailing his arms around, "Mr. Wombat, help!"  
Quickly, he extracted his claws & dug into the wall, trying to stop himself from being pulled upwards. But he was still being pulled by the fan, his claws scratching the wall as he's being dragged skyward.  
As he was near the top, just below the fan, his claws were pulled free, as he felt himself flying out of control, screaming in fear, until his head smacked into a beam placed between himself & the fan.  
He placed his hands on the beam, claws extracted, as he looked up at the swirling deathtrap above him.  
"MR. WOMBAT! **MR. WOMBAT!**"  
Furrball was screaming at the top of his lungs, hoping that the candyman will hear him.  
"Furrball?", a voice called out from below.  
"Mr. Wombat?", Furrball looked down to see the candyman, along with Elmyra & Monty, enter the room.  
"Mr. Wombat, help me! Turn off the fan!"  
Mr. Wombat, instead of choosing to help Furrball, simply stood there with his arms crossed, looking up at the floating cat.  
"Furrball, did you drink some of the fizzy lifting drinks?"  
"Yes, yes, I did, I admit it, and I'm sorry! Now please get me down from here!"  
Mr. Wombat shook his head as he sighed. "Furrball, Furrball, Furrball...all you had to do..."  
"I know, I shouldn't have had some of the drinks. I should've listened to you."  
"...is burp", Mr. Wombat finished. Furrball looked down at the wombat in confusion.  
"Burp?"  
"Yeah. If you wanted to get back down, all you had to do is burp."  
"Uh, are you sure?"  
"Positive."  
The blue cat still had a look of confusion before he said, "Okay, here goes nothing."  
And at that moment, he took a deep breath, and let out a large, loud burp.  
"Ugh", he said, before he realized he was slowly beginning to sink.  
"Hey, it's working!", he said with a smile on his face as he looked up, seeing the fan moving farther from him.  
"Keep burping", Mr. Wombat called out, "you'll come down a lot faster."  
"Okay!", Furrball replied, before he burped again. He suddenly felt himself fall quickly for about a second, before he burped again, repeating the process.  
"Attaboy, Furrball", said Mr. Wombat, as the blue cat kept burping as he continued his descent to the ground.  
Finally, after about several moments, the blue cat finally reached the ground, on the other side of the machine from where the others were.  
Furrball looked back up at the fan & realized that, even though he tried to get himself removed from the tour, he nearly removed himself from existence.  
Mr. Wombat spoke up again. "Now, let's keep our feet on the ground. Come on, everybody."  
As he turned to leave the room, he heard a faint sound. Looking back into the room, he noticed the sound was someone crying.  
Slowly, he walked over to one side of the room & peeked over to the other side of the machine. He saw Furrball lying facedown on the ground, crying. His hands were placed over the back of his head, his tail laying limply along with his legs.  
"Furrball?", Mr. Wombat asked. He turned to Monty and Elmyra & shooed them out of the room with his cane. Once they left, the candyman turned to the sobbing cat & slowly approached him.  
He knelt down beside him & gently stroked his back, a look of concern on his face. Furrball was crying with fear & sadness, similar to the way Fifi cried earlier.  
"Furrball?", he asked again, before the blue cat spoke up.  
"I'm sorry, Mr. Wombat." He sniffed a couple of times before he continued, "I'm really sorry."  
"Furrball..."  
"I didn't know...I didn't know there was a fan up there. I nearly got myself killed."  
As the cat continued sobbing, the candyman stroked his back again to try to calm him down.  
"Furrball, look at me."  
The blue cat obeyed him, as he looked up with sad, sorrowful eyes.  
"Why did you drink the fizzy lifting drink?", Mr. Wombat asked.  
Instead of answering the wombat, Furrball placed his face into the floor & continued crying, feeling too scared to answer Mr. Wombat's question.  
"Furrball", the candyman said again, "tell me. I won't be mad at you. I just want to know why you did what you did."  
After hearing those words, Furrball felt the courage to finally answer the question, but it was starting to become difficult for him to speak.  
"Because...", he started, but unable to finish his sentence.  
"Because what?"  
Furrball tried to regain himself before he spoke again.  
"Because...I want to be with Fifi again", the blue cat said before crying again. Mr. Wombat made a face of genuine surprise. This was not an answer he expected.  
"I know she needs me", Furrball continued, being able to speak without difficulty, "I can feel her fear. I can hear her calling my name. I know she wants me to be with her, and I want to be with her too. I want to make sure she's okay. I'm scared that something else might happen to her."  
"Aww", Mr. Wombat said as he started petting Furrball again, "it's okay, my dear boy. You don't need to worry about Ms. La Fume anymore."  
After hearing those words, Furrball stopped crying & looked up at Mr. Wombat. "I don't?"  
"No. In fact, while we were on our way back here, an Oompa-Loompa came up to me & told me that they've successfully deflated Fifi."  
Furrball couldn't believe what he just heard. He was immediately relaxed by those words.  
"You mean...she not a blueberry anymore?"  
"Nope, they've gotten all the juice completely out of her, so she's now her old, normal self again."  
"Are you sure about that?"  
"Furrball, the Oompa-Loompas cannot lie, and they never make mistakes. Of course I'm sure."  
Furrball was very happy to hear those words. He slowly stood with a smile on his face.  
"Come here", Mr. Wombat said as he opened his arms. Furrball approached him, and the two of them hugged.  
"There's no need to worry anymore, Furrball. Fifi is back to normal now."  
Furrball smiled as he happily hugged the candyman, knowing that Fifi is no longer in danger.  
"But, I must tell you", the candyman continued, "you won't be seeing Ms. La Fume again until the tour is over."  
Furrball broke the hug & faced the wombat.  
"That's fine with me", the blue cat replied, "I'm just glad that Fifi is back to normal & unharmed."  
Mr. Wombat chuckled & said, "Attaboy", before rubbing Furrball's head. "Anyway, let's continue on with the tour, shall we?"  
"Yes, please", Furrball said, feeling quite happy.  
As he followed the wombat out of the room, he was feeling quite happy, knowing that Fifi is back to normal & that she'll be waiting for him at the end of the tour.  
The candyman continued down the corridor, with Furrball, Elmyra, and Monty following behind.


	18. Elmyra's demise

The group continued on down the corridor, until they stopped at a closed door. It was round like the door to The Inventing Room, but much smaller.  
"Here's another place I'd like to show you", Mr. Wombat said. The toons looked at the door, which reads "**THE NUT ROOM**" in plain, black letters.  
"'The Nut Room?'", Monty said, "What kind of nuts are in there, Mr. Wombat?"  
"The kind you eat", the candyman replied as he sorted through his keys, until he found the one that opened the door.  
As the group stepped inside, they saw a chain-link fence that separated them from the rest of the room as they heard a lot of clattering going on.  
They looked to see a large room with exactly 100 squirrels, each placed on a stool, sitting at their own respective work station.  
"Squirrels!", Elmyra chirped excitedly.  
"Yep", Mr. Wombat replied, "lots & lots of squirrels."  
The group looked on, watching the squirrels open up walnuts that appeared at their work stations via a tube, taking the shells apart & placing the nuts on a tiny conveyor belt.  
"What do these squirrels do, Mr. Wombat?", Furrball asked.  
"I'm glad you asked", Mr. Wombat replied, "These squirrels are specially trained to get the nuts out of a walnut & place them on the conveyor belts, where they will be stored in the room where I make my popular Willy Wombat's Scrumpdiddlyumptious Bars with nuts."  
As the squirrels continued working, Monty spoke up.  
"Why use squirrels? Why not use the Oompa-Loompas?"  
"Good question", Mr. Wombat said, "You see, only the squirrels can open the walnuts successfully with very little difficulty. Plus, they can easily tell the difference between a good nut & a bad nut."  
Just as Mr. Wombat said that, one squirrel picked up a walnut & tapped it against its work station.  
"Oh look!", the candyman pointed, "Right there!"  
The squirrel then placed the walnut up to its ear.  
"That must be a bad nut."  
The squirrel then placed the walnut up a different tube, which lead to a large, square-shaped hole at the opposite end of the room. The walnut gets shot out of the tube & down the hole.  
Elmyra looked on in amazement; she had never seen such skilled animals.  
"They look so adorable!", she said, with Furrball making a grumbling noise, knowing what's coming up next.  
"Monty", Elmyra said as she turned to him, "I want a cute little squirrely-whirrley. Can you get me one?"  
"Oh, gimme a break", Monty replied in an annoyed tone, "you got plenty of pets at home."  
"I know, but I want a squirrel."  
"Well, you can get one when we get out of here."  
"But I want one of THOSE squirrels."  
"Okay, fine." Monty then turned to the candyman. "Mr. Wombat, how much do you want for one of those squirrels?"  
"What? Oh, they're not for sale."  
"I can make it worth your while", Monty pulled out a bag of cash from his coat, "name your price."  
"I'm sorry, but she can't have one."  
"Who says I can't have one?", Elmyra said, feeling disappointed.  
"The wombat in the hat", Monty replied as he put his money away.  
"FINE!", Elmyra screamed, "If you won't let me have a squirrel, I'll get one myself!"  
And at that moment, she began climbing the fence.  
"Hey, Elmyra!", Monty exclaimed, "What are you doing?"  
"Here we go again", Furrball mumbled as he leaned again the fence.  
"Hey, little girl", Mr. Wombat said as he tried to reach for Elmyra, "get down from there."  
But Elmyra was almost near the top. Monty tried to climb the fence & chase after her, but was unsuccessful.  
"Hey cat", he turned to Furrball, "you're good at climbing, go get her."  
"Mmmmm, nah", Furrball replied as he looked at the back of his paw, not giving a care in the world for Elmyra, "I don't feel like it."  
"Do it, or I'll-", Monty started toward Furrball, but the blue cat lazily extracted a claw from his finger & pointed it toward Monty.  
"Touch me & you'll be going home in stitches."  
Elmyra carefully climbed over the top of the fence & started climbing back down the other side.  
"Mr. Wombat, open this door, now", Monty said.  
"Okay, gimme a sec", the candyman replied as he bought out his keys, nearly a hundred keys dangling from the large ring.  
"Oh, for crying out loud!", Monty exclaimed as he facepalmed. He knew this would take a while.  
As Elmyra finally made it to the other side of the fence, she dropped down, which alerted the squirrels.  
One squirrel chirped in alarm, which caused the others to stop working & look at the little girl coming down the stairs.  
"Okay, here we go", Mr Wombat said as he placed a key into the keyhole, but it didn't unlock the gate. "Or, maybe not."  
As Elmyra got to the bottom of the stairs, she looked around at the rodents staring at her as she started walking toward the center of the room.  
"Here it is", the candyman said as he placed another key, which did nothing. "Here it isn't."  
Elmyra approached the squirrel at the end of the right side of the room, the critters, along with Furrball & Monty, still looking on.  
"I'll take you home with me", she said as she started toward the squirrel. But suddenly, it made a loud chirp, and at that moment, all of the squirrels jumped off their stools & started attacking Elmyra.  
The sudden attack startled Furrball & Monty as they held each other in fear & surprise.  
Elmyra tried to get all the squirrels off of her as she made her way back to the stairs.  
"Oh, good news!", Mr. Wombat exclaimed as he tried another key, which was also the wrong key. "Never mind."  
Furrball & Monty faced each other before the blue cat was shoved rudely to the ground.  
Elmyra tried shaking off the attacking rodents as she started up the stairs, but she tripped as she got to the last step.  
"Monty, help!", she cried out.  
"Elmyra!", Monty exclaimed as he stuck his hand through the fence, "Grab my hand!"  
Elmyra tried grabbing his hand, but at the last second, she felt herself being pulled back down the stairs.  
"Noooooo!", she screamed, before being pulled to the bottom & covered up by the viciously attacking rodents.  
"Elmyra!", Monty shouted as he watched her trying to break free from the errupting pile of squirrels.  
Suddenly, one group of squirrels pinned her arm down to the ground, before another group pinned her other arm, followed by the rest of the critters pinning down her legs. Elmyra tried to move, but she was completely immobilized.  
"Mr. Wombat, make them stop!", she cried out.  
"Don't worry Elmyra", he replied as he tried a few more keys, "we'll get you out of there. If I can find the right key."  
Just then, one squirrel, who appeared bigger than the rest, jumped on top of Elmyra's chest & moved toward her face. The girl looked on in fear on what it's gonna do to her.  
She closed her eyes tight as the critter placed its paws on her face, then began knocking on her cranium, then scratched her head with its sharp claws.  
"OWW!"  
"What are they doing to her?", Monty asked.  
"They testing her", Mr. Wombat replied, "to see if she's a bad nut."  
After a moment, the squirrel made a single chirp.  
"Oh dear", the candyman said, as Monty & Furrball turned to him, "she is a bad nut after all."  
The squirrel turned & pointed at the large hole at the end of the room, which signaled the other squirrels as they started moving Elmyra toward the hole.  
"Monty, help!", she cried out, still unable to break free.  
"Elmyra!", Monty yelled as he shook the gate, trying to open it. He then turned to the candyman.  
"Where are they taking her?"  
"Where all the other bad nuts go, down the garbage drain."  
"And where does that lead to?"  
"The boiler."  
"The boiler?!", Monty asked in fear. Even Furrball looked on in worry.  
"But don't worry, we only light it on Saturdays."  
"Uhhh, sir", Furrball said, "today IS Saturday."  
Monty looked at the candyman in fear.  
"Oh...ummm...", Mr. Wombat began, but then he took out his whistle & blew. Monty & Furrball covered their ears & groaned angrily.  
"I hate that thing.", Monty said, with Furrball growling furiously in response. At that moment, an Oompa-Loompa showed up near Mr. Wombat.  
"Head straight to the control room & turn off the boiler immediately."  
The little orange man nodded before he ran out of the room.  
As Furrball, Monty, and Mr. Wombat faced back to Elmyra, the squirrels had her right next to the square-shaped hole.  
"HELP ME!", she wailed. And at that moment, the squirrels catapulted her into the hole.  
Monty gasped in fear as he heard Elmyra scream, the little girl falling into infinite darkness, until her screams faded into silence. The squirrels all hurried back to their seats.  
"And good riddance", Furrball said.  
"Shut up!", Monty scolded at the blue cat before punching him in the face.  
Furrball hissed furiously at Monty with his fur standing & his claws extracted, before jumping onto him & started beating him up again, just like before in The Inventing Room.  
"That enough!", Mr. Wombat said as he raised his cane & slammed it down into the dust cloud, hitting both toons on their heads, stopping them instantly, and leaving both toons with goofy faces. The cane had two dents where it hit Furrball & Monty.  
"Honestly", the candyman continued as he straightened out his cane, "are you two...", he unbends one dent, "ever gonna...", then the other, "behave?"  
Mr. Wombat looked down madly at the two toons. Then, out of nowhere, some music started playing.  
The group turned to see a bunch of Oompa-Loompas entering the room near the garbage drain. The squirrels stopped working & turned to watch the singing little men.

_Elmyra Duff the little pain,_  
_Has just gone down the garbage drain,_  
_And she will meet, as she descends,_  
_A rather different set of friends,_  
_A rather different set of friends,_  
_A rather different set of friends,_  
_An apple rotten to the core,_  
_Is just the start of many more_  
_Nasty things to come her way,_  
_Like something moldy, and something grey._  
_And other icky things as well,_  
_Each with its rather horrid smell, horrid smell,_  
_These are Elmyra's brand new friends,_  
_That she will meet as she descends_  
_These are Elmyra's brand new friends_

Mr. Wombat, Monty, and Furrball turned to leave, but then stopped as the Oompa-Loompas continued singing.

_Who went and spoiled the little brat?_  
_Who went and gave her this and that?_  
_Who pandered to her every need?_  
_Who really did this, who indeed?_  
_The guilty ones, and this is sad,_  
_Are her very own dear Mom and Dad._

As the Oompa-Loompas all left the room, one Oompa-Loompa appeared beside the candyman & tugged on his pants.  
"Huh?", he said as he knelt down beside the little orange man, who whispered into the wombat's ear.  
"Oh brilliant, thank you", Mr. Wombat said before the Oompa-Loompa left the room.  
"What did he say?", Furrball asked the candyman.  
"He just informed me that the boiler has been successfully shut off. So all the garbage that hasn't been burned will break her fall."  
The candyman then approached the fence & said, "By the way, I must mention that when I sort through my keys, I always start with this key", he showed the toons a single key, "and go clockwise. But if I went counter-clockwise...", he picked the next key from the left & placed it into the gate. He turned it, and the gate opened.  
"You gotta be kidding me!", Monty yelled as Furrball started laughing behind him.  
"But, don't worry", the wombat said, "the little girl will be fine. Unless, of course, she's stuck inside the drain."  
As Mr. Wombat turned to exit the room, the toons followed him, with Monty having an angry face, and Furrball wondering if Elmyra actually is stuck inside the garbage drain.


	19. The elevator

As Furrball & Monty followed Mr. Wombat down the corridor, the candyman started ranting about the disappearance of Hamton, Fifi, and just recently, Elmyra.  
"I don't understand this", he said, "everyone's disappearing from the group like rabbits! Three of them are gone, now there's only two left! I just don't seem to figure out WHY this is happening!"  
Then suddenly, a thought struck him. Furrball & Monty stopped as the wombat turned to them.  
"Why didn't I think of this?"  
"Huh?", Furrball asked.  
"I don't know why I haven't thought of this before."  
Mr. Wombat continued down the corridor, the two children following behind, until they reached what appeared to be a see-through glass elevator.  
"Let's take the elevator", Mr. Wombat said as he pushed the button next to the doors, opening the elevator. The trio stepped inside.  
"We should've done this beforehand, would've saved us a lot of time."  
Furrball & Monty looked around & saw many buttons placed all along the walls of the elevator, and even on the ceiling.  
"There can't be this many rooms", Monty exclaimed.  
"How do you know, smarty pants?", the candyman replied. "Besides, this isn't any regular up-and-down elevator, no. This elevator can go sideways and slantways and longways and backways..."  
"And frontways?", Furrball asked.  
"...and squareways and frontways and any other possible ways that you can think of. Just one push of a button", he pressed a random button, "and WHOOSH! You're off!"  
Just as the doors closed, all of a sudden, the elevator zoomed off to one side at neck-breaking speed, sending Furrball & Monty splatting into the wall.  
About a moment later, they're passing by a large, snowy mountain with a few Oompa-Loompas digging with shovels & pickaxes.  
"Welcome to Fudge Mountain!", Mr. Wombat exclaimed as he waved at the Oompa-Loompas down below, who waved back.  
Next, they entered a room with some pink sheeps having their pink wool being shaved off by the Oompa-Loompas.  
"Are those sheeps made of cotton candies?", Furrball asked.  
"I'd rather not talk about this", Mr. Wombat replied as the elevator continued along the track. Monty started checking out the buttons along the elevator & read the words out loud.  
"'Butterscotch & Buttergin?' 'Naffy Taffy?' 'Eatable Marshmallow Pillows?' Why is everything in this factory completely pointless?"  
"Candy doesn't have to have a point", Furrball said, "that's why it's candy."  
"Candy's a waste of time!"  
"YOU are a waste of time!"  
Mr. Wombat held a hand up to his face as he smiled at Furrball's comeback.  
"What are you snickering at?!", Monty smapped at the candyman.  
"Nothing", he replied.  
Monty, feeling rather annoyed, resumed looking at the buttons, until he saw one labelled "**TELEVISION ROOM.**"  
"You have a T.V. Room?", Monty asked Mr. Wombat.  
"Yep. You want to go there?"  
Monty looked at Furrball, who gave a shrug for an answer. Monty then pressed the button, which caused the elevator to stop, then zip downward for several seconds, before zooming off to another direction, sending Monty & Furrball into the wall again.  
The elevator continued travelling until they reached their destination: The Television Room.  
As the trio stepped out, Mr. Wombat reached the door & took a couple of goggles that were on hook & handed them to Monty & Furrball.  
"Here, put these on", the candyman said.  
"What for?", Monty asked.  
"There's some very dangerous equipment in here, and I don't want you guys to lose your eyes. So put them on, and do NOT, whatever happens, take these off. Capiche?"  
The toons nodded their heads as they put their goggles on.  
"Okay then", Mr. Wombat put his goggles on, "let's go in." 


	20. Monty's endgame

The trio entered a room that's completely bright white with several Oompa-Loompas wearing goggles similar to the ones the trio's wearing. In the center of the room lies a large, camera-like device pointing downward at a 45-degree angle toward a circular platform. The Oompa-Loompas were working on various control panels placed around the large camera.  
"Step right this way", Mr. Wombat spoke up, "I'd like to show you all my latest invention: Television Chocolate. Now, I'm sure you all know how televisions works. You photograph something-"  
"I know how it works", Monty interrupted, "You photograph something, and then the photograph is split up into millions of tiny pieces, and they go whizzing through the air down to your TV set where they're all put together-"  
"'Blah blah blah blah blah blah', that's all I'm hearing from you. Seriously, open your mouth when you speak next time."  
Monty stared angrily at the candyman with Furrball looking on. He has a feeling that Mr. Wombat is starting to dislike Monty.  
"Anyway", Mr. Wombat continued, "so I thought to myself, 'If they can do it with a photograph, why can't I do it with a bar of chocolate?'"  
He then took out his whistle, but before he blew into it, he turned to the toons & said, "You might wanna cover your ears."  
Once Furrball & Monty did as they were told, the candyman blew the whistle & shouted, "Bring out the chocolate!"  
At that moment, 6 Oompa-Loompas all entered the room, carrying a Scrumpdiddlyumptious Bar that was 10 times bigger than a regular Scrumpdiddlyumptious Bar.  
"That's a huge candy bar", Monty exclaimed.  
"Yeah", Furrball replied, "Hamton would've gone nuts over that thing."  
The Oompa-Loompas placed the humongous candy bar on the platform in front of the camera. The toons followed Mr. Wombat to a control panel placed behind the camera.  
"Now", the wombat spoke up, "this is where the dangerous part comes in, so stay here away from the danger."  
Monty & Furrball looked on as the candyman began pressing a few buttons, each making mechanical beeping sounds.  
"Lights...camera...", once the camera powered up, Mr. Wombat opened a small plastic container that has a large red button inside.  
"Action!", Mr. Wombat shouted as he pressed the button. And at that moment, the front of the camera started emitting a small white orb in front of its lens, which slowly grew until, without warning, a blinding while flash lit up the entire room in a blink of an eye.  
Once the camera powered down, the toons looked & saw that the platform no longer has the giant chocolate bar.  
"Hey", Furrball said, "the candy bar, it's gone!"  
"Yep", said Mr. Wombat, "it's now flying over our heads in a million tiny pieces. Now, come over here."  
He led the toons to a small monitor with a keyboard sitting next to it.  
"Watch the screen", the candyman told the toons as he began typing. After a moment, a Scrumpdiddlyumptious Bar appeared in the monitor.  
"There we go. Take it", he said to Monty.  
"What do you mean 'take it?' It's just a picture on the screen."  
"Fair enough. YOU take it", he turned to Furrball. The blue cat doesn't know how he can take a candy bar from a television screen.  
He raised his hand & placed it against the screen, but as he pressed it, the screen pressed back like it was made of rubber.  
"Whoa!", he exclaimed in surprise as he quicky removed his hand, causing the screen to wobble back into place.  
Monty looked on in surprise. He & Furrball were thinking the same thing: regular glass shouldn't act like that.  
"Go on, Furrball", Mr. Wombat said, "don't be scared."  
Slowly, the blue cat placed his hand on the screen, pressing it until his hand burst through, and the screen started waving & rippling around his arm like liquid.  
"Whoa", he said in amazement. He reached forward until he grabbed the candy bar, then pulled his hand out, the screen bouncing back into its normal shape.  
He looked down at the candy bar in his hand. It wasn't a picture on the screen like Monty thought it was; it was real.  
"Have a bite", Mr. Wombat said.  
"Can I?", Furrball asked.  
"Yes, go ahead. It's the same bar, just smaller."  
Furrball unwrapped one end of the candy bar & took a small bite. It tasted real too.  
"It's delicious."  
"Wow", Monty said, also sounding astonished, "now that's what I call a T.V. dinner." Mr. Wombat then spoke up.  
"Now, say you're at home watching T.V., a commercial will come on, and a voice will say 'Willy Wombat's Scrumpdiddlyumptious Bars are the best candy bars ever created. If you don't believe me, try one for yourself.' And you simply reach out & take it. Just like that."  
"Mr. Wombat?", Furrball called out.  
"Eh?"  
"Can you send other things through T.V.?"  
"Well, what do you have in mind?"  
"What about people?", Monty asked.  
"People? Hmmm...I bet I could. But I don't see a point in sending a person at all."  
"No! Don't you realize what you've invented? It's a teleporter! It's one of the greatest inventions ever! How could you not see that?!"  
"Calm down, Monty", Furrball told the human toon, "I think Mr. Wombat knows what he's doing."  
"No he doesn't! All he thinks about is candy. He doesn't know what he's doing because he's an idiot. But I'm not."  
And at that moment, Monty shoved Furrball to the ground & ran up to the control panel behind the camera.  
"Hey, little boy", Mr. Wombat said, "what are you doing?"  
Monty began pressing buttons on the panel with an evil chuckle.  
"Oh no", Furrball said as he stood, "don't tell me..."  
"Lights...camera...", Monty started.  
"Don't push that button!", Mr. Wombat shouted.  
"Action!", Monty yelled out as he slammed his fist on the big red button.  
"Monty!", Furrball called out as he started running to him.  
"Furrball, no!", cried the candyman as he grabbed the blue cat's tail, stopping him.  
Monty ran up to the platform while the camera was getting ready to flash its bright light. As the human toon stepped onto the platform, he turned to the camera & made a square with his thumbs & index fingers.  
"Cheese!", he said, and in an instance, the whole room was flashed by a blinding light. Once the flash was gone, so was Monty.  
"He's gone", Furrball said.  
"Let's check the television", Mr. Wombat said as he & Furrball approached the monitor. "I sure hope no part of him gets left behind."  
Furrball turned to Mr. Wombat in confusion. "What do you mean?"  
"Well, on rare occasions, only half of the million pieces would make it to the T.V. set."  
"Oh. Well, we'd be better off with half of Monty anyway."  
"Now why would you say that?"  
"Well, if there was half of Monty, he would be only half a pain."  
"Heh, you make a decent point."  
After about a moment, nothing was showing up on the monitor.  
"Where is he?", Furrball asked.  
"I don't know, he should show up by now."  
"Is there anything I can do?"  
"Well, it wouldn't hurt to give it a good whack."  
Furrball smacked the side of the monitor, but it only caused nothing but static to appear on the screen.  
"Then again, it wouldn't help either", Mr. Wombat said.  
Then, after a moment, the screen started changing to different channels as music started playing. Suddenly, Monty appeared for a brief moment in the screen.  
"There he is", Furrball said, "I just saw him."  
The Oompa-Loompas gathered around Furrball & Mr. Wombat, while the T.V. showed an Oompa-Loompa in each different channel.

_The most important thing we've learned_  
_As far as children are concerned,_  
_Is that to let them have their way,_  
_Would keep experience at bay,_  
_So by making Monty go to the spot,_  
_Where Willy Wombat makes his lot_  
_Of candy that is very dear,_  
_To children who are far and near_

Suddenly, the T.V. changed to what appears to be a few Oompa-Loompas performing a rock concert, with one acting as a vocalist, another playing a guitar, another playing bass guitar, and a couple more playing keyboards & drums respectively.  
As they were playing their music, the Oompa-Loompas behind Furrball & Mr. Wombat were all doing air guitars, rocking along with the music.

_Let Monty explore a whole new place,_  
_Expanding both his mind and space,_  
_And learn a thing or two that's new,_  
_As long as Monty follows the rules,_  
_Follows the rules, follows the rules_  
_For to break the rules is dire indeed,_  
_For those who simply wish to greed,_  
_Wish to greed, wish to greed,_  
_On only thoughts of what they need,_  
_Will only bring bad luck with speed._  
_If he cannot think, and only sees_

At that moment, the channel changed to what appeared to be a 60s rock concert, with the Oompa-Loompas now dressed like The Beatles & playing classical music.  
The Oompa-Loompas behind Mr. Wombat & Furrball all held up tiny lighters.

_His brain becomes as soft as cheese,_  
_His thinking powers rust and freeze,_  
_And we regret at once that we, regret that we_

Finally the T.V. started changing to different channels again as the Oompa-Loompas concluded their song.

_We must help poor little Monty,_  
_And we regret at once that we,_  
_Must try to get him to his height,_  
_But if we can't, it serves him right._

Once the song stopped, so did the changing channels, and only Monty appeared in the screen again.  
"Grab him, quick", Mr. Wombat said. Furrball reached into the monitor, grabbed Monty, and pulled him out. In his hand, Monty was no bigger than 4 inches tall.  
"Oh-ho-ho, man", the tiny toon said, "what a ride! I haven't had so much fun in my life! You should try this."  
"I'm glad you had fun", Furrball said, "but look at you. You're as small as Sweetie Bird & Lil Sneezer."  
"That's no problem", Monty looked up to Mr. Wombat, "just send me back the other way."  
"What 'other way?'"  
"What?"  
"This is a tele-VISION, not a tele-PORTER. There is no 'other way.'"  
"You mean I'm gonna be stuck like this for the rest of my life?!"  
"I'm afraid so. But hey, at least you're completely unharmed."  
"You call THIS unharmed?!"  
"Is there anything you can do?", Furrball asked the candyman.  
"I don't know", he replied. "Honestly, I'm stumped."  
Furrball looked back down at the tiny boy in his paw, who looked quite angry. Mr. Wombat spoke up again.  
"But you know boys, they tend to be quite springy." Then, a thought struck him. He took out his whistle, Furrball & Monty quickly covering their ears, but before the wombat could blow into the whistle, an Oompa-Loompa already appeared.  
"Oh", he said, as he held a hand out to Furrball. The blue cat dropped the shrunken boy into Mr. Wombat's hand as he spoke to the Oompa-Loompa.  
"I want you to take this, uh, little boy to the taffy pulling machine, okay?"  
"'Taffy pulling machine?!'", Monty exclaimed. The Oompa-Loompa nodded his head before he took Monty from the wombat's hand.  
"Hey, what are you doing?! Put me down you orange-faced freak! HELP!"  
"Au revoir, Montana Max", Mr. Wombat said. After a moment, he turned to Furrball.  
"Let's get out of here."  
The blue cat followed the candyman out the room.


	21. Furrball's reward

As Mr. Wombat & Furrball took off their goggles after exiting The Television Room, Mr. Wombat spoke up.  
"Now, let's carry on with the tour. Who do we have left?"  
After he turned to Furrball, he made a face of worry & concern. Furrball looked timidly around him before he spoke up.  
"Mr. Wombat, there's no one else here besides me."  
"You mean...?"  
"Yep, I'm the only one left."  
Slowly, but unexpectedly, Mr. Wombat's face went from concern to joy & happiness.  
"Oh, my dear boy, do you know what this means?"  
Furrball looked up questionably at Mr. Wombat.  
"It means you won!"  
The blue cat then made a face of genuine surprise.  
"I won?", he asked.  
"Yes, my feline friend", the candyman replied as he shook Furrball's hand, "you've won the grand prize!"  
"The lifetime supply of chocolate?"  
"Yes, but that's not the grand prize, Furrball."  
"It's not?", Furrball asked in confusion.  
"No, my dear boy, it isn't."  
"Oh. Then what is the grand prize?"  
Mr. Wombat took a couple steps back as he answered.  
"The grand prize, Furrball...", he spread out his arms & looked around, "is this."  
Furrball looked around the place, not knowing what the wombat was referring to.  
"Sir?"  
"How did you like this factory, Furrball?"  
"I love it. I think it's the most amazing place in the whole world."  
"I am so delighted to hear that...because this here factory...is now yours."  
Furrball's face lit up in surprise. "What? Y-you mean...?"  
"Yes, Furrball. I'm giving you the factory."  
Furrball was completely speechless. Mr. Wombat is giving him the factory? Why would he give it all away?  
"But...but sir-"  
"I can't continue on, Furrball. All good things must come to an end, and I'm afraid the end is coming for me. So, who can I trust to run the factory for me while I'm gone? Who's gonna take care of all the Oompa-Loompas? Who can I share all my secret recipes with? Not a grown-up, no. A grown-up will want to do things his way. So I figured that a kid- a kind, loving, caring kid- would be able to take over for me & do things my way. But there are so many kids here in Acme Acres, so I had to narrow it down to just a few."  
"And that's why you sent out the golden tickets!"  
"That's right! So, the factory is all yours. You & Fifi can share all the chocolate & sweets that you both desire. Because as of this moment...", the candyman took off his hat & placed it on Furrball's head, "YOU'RE the new Willy Wombat."  
Furrball looked up at the hat with wide, surprised eyes. He took it off his head, looking at the headwear in complete astonishment.  
He couldn't believe what just happened. He never dreamed of taking over for possibly the greatest candy maker in the world. This was truly something beyond his wildest dreams.  
He looked up at Mr. Wombat, eyes watering & lips trembling. He was completely overjoyed. He quickly hugged the candyman, who gently hugged back.  
"Thank you, Mr. Wombat", the blue cat weeped.  
Mr. Wombat chuckled as he replied, "You're welcome, Furrball."  
The two stayed in their embrace for a moment, before Mr. Wombat spoke up.  
"Hey, I think it's time we head on out."  
"Now?"  
"Yep. Let's take the elevator."  
Furrball put the hat back on his head as he followed Mr. Wombat into the elevator. As the doors closed, the wombat spoke up.  
"I've saved a special button for you, Furrball."  
He picked up the blue cat & held him up to the buttons on the ceiling.  
"Which one is it?", Furrball asked.  
"The red one in the center."  
Furrball looked & saw a single red button that was labelled "UP AND OUT."  
"'Up & out?'", Furrball asked, "What kind of room is that?"  
"Press it."  
Once Furrball pressed the red button, Mr. Wombat set him down & said, "Now hold on."  
The elevator shot off toward one direction, before it started going straight up.  
"We need to gain more speed", said Mr. Wombat, "or we won't be able to break through."  
"'Break through?'", Furrball repeated, "Wait! You mean we're really going...?"  
"Yep, up & out."  
"But this elevator is made of glass, it'll shatter!"  
"Maybe."  
Furrball looked up & saw a faint circular opening that was quickly moving toward the elevator. He held on to Mr. Wombat's leg tightly as he closed his eyes. A moment later, the sound of shattering glass filled his ears.  
Furrball opened his eyes & saw that the elevator was still intact & that it was shooting into the sky. He looked down & saw that they were ejected out of one of the smokestacks, which had glass covering the top that shattered from the impact of the elevator.  
Suddenly, the elevator started falling from the sky. The blue cat looked up & saw that Mr. Wombat wasn't scared at all. In fact, he was smiling.  
Furrball closed his eyes again, but at that moment, Mr. Wombat flipped open the top of his cane, which revealed a button. He pressed it, and 4 rocket thrusters appeared at the top of the elevator, which stopped it from falling.  
Meanwhile, down below, Buster, Babs, Plucky, Shirley, and Bugs Bunny were walking down the street after leaving Acme Loo, when they saw the glass elevator in the sky.  
"Whoa, look at that!", Plucky exclaimed, pointing at the elevator.  
"Is that Furrball?", Babs asked.  
As the elevator started descending in front of the factory, Bugs & the rest of the group ran up to the gate.  
When the elevator landed & the doors opened, Furrball ran out & up to the gate.  
"Hey guys!", he called out.  
"Hey Furrball", Buster replied. "Did you have fun?"  
"Heck yeah I did!"  
"Nice hat", Shirley said.  
"Thanks. Oh, you guys won't believe this."  
"Did you win the grand prize?", Bugs asked.  
"Yes, but it wasn't the lifetime supply of chocolate. It was the factory itself!"  
The group all exclaimed in surprise & astonishment.  
"You won the FACTORY?!", Buster asked.  
"That's great, Furrball!", Babs chirped in excitement.  
As Mr. Wombat joined the group at the gate, Buster asked him, "Did you really give Furrball the factory?"  
"I sure did. You see, Furrball here is a very kind & caring kid. I think he's worthy enough to fill in my shoes."  
"Congrats, Furrball", Bugs said to the blue cat, "but where are the others?"  
At that moment, the front door of the factory opened, and Hamton stepped out, completely covered in chocolate.  
"Hamton!", Furrball exclaimed as he gave the hat to Mr. Wombat & ran up to the chocolate-covered pig.  
"Hey Mr. Wombat", Buster said, "I don't know if you remember, but my grandpa used to work here at the factory."  
"Your grandpa? Oh! Baxter Bunny?"  
"Yes, that's him!"  
"Yeah, I do remember him. Such a nice fellow. Tell him I said 'hi' next time you see him."  
"I will."  
As Furrball ran up to Hamton, he asked, "Hamton, are you okay?"  
Hamton was licking the chocolate off his fingers before he replied, "I have never tasted so good."  
He placed his hand into his mouth & started sucking off the chocolate. Furrball looked away in disgust & noticed someone else exiting the factory.  
At first, it appeared to be a person hiding behind a big, blue fluffy tail. But as the blue figure started down the steps, Furrball knew who it is.  
"Fifi?", he called out.  
The figure lowered the tail, and saw Furrball staring at her.  
"Furrball?"  
As Furrball heard her voice, his body filled with excitement.  
"FIFI!"  
He started running up to the factory, and Fifi ran down the steps. As they reached each other, they hugged each other very happily.  
Furrball gave Fifi a long kiss on the cheek before he said, "Oh Fifi, I'm so happy to see you again!"  
"Oui, I'm happy to see you too, Furrball!"  
They broke the hug, and Furrball saw that Fifi's fur is still blue.  
"Are you okay, sweetheart?"  
"Oui, I am, but...look at me. I'm steell blue."  
"I can see that."  
Fifi's eyes started watering as she said, "I don't like having blue fur, I look hideous. I want my old fur back."  
"Oh, Fifi, there's nothing to worry about. Look, your fur now matches my fur."  
Furrball held out his arm, and they both saw that their fur are the same matching blue colors.  
"Oh, wow", Fifi said, starting to relax, "I never noticed zhat."  
"Yeah, and besides...", Furrball took Fifi's hand & kissed it, "I think you look great with blue fur."  
"You do?"  
"Mm-hmm."  
The cat & skunk smiled romantically, both very happy to be reunited. Then, they sniffed the air as something revolting reached their noses.  
"Zhat's not me, eez it?", Fifi asked.  
"No, I don't think so", Furrball replied.  
Just then, they both heard soft squishing footsteps. They looked at the door, and there stood Elmyra, all covered in garbage, flies buzzing around her head. She was looking enraged.  
"Ugh!", exclaimed Furrball.  
"Oh mon goodness!", Fifi said as she covered her nose with her tail.  
"What on earth happened to you?", Hamton asked Elmyra.  
As Elmyra came down the steps, Furrball continued.  
"My gosh Elmyra, you smell terrible. You smell worse than her", he pointed at Fifi, then turned to her & quickly said, "No offense, sweetheart."  
"None taken", Fifi replied.  
Elmyra stood at the bottom of the steps, still enraged.  
"I'm never touching a squirrel again."  
Fifi turned to Furrball, wondering what happened to Elmyra.  
"Wha...?"  
"I'll explain later."  
Mr. Wombat approached the group & said, "Well, I'm glad to see that you all are fine & unharmed."  
"Where's Monty?", Elmyra asked. At that moment, they heard bouncing spring sounds coming from the factory doors, accompanied by Monty grunting.  
"UNGH! Why must I be like this?"  
"What's goeeng on?", Fifi asked.  
"OW! This is ridiculous!", Monty shouted. The toons caught a glimpse of Monty, who appeared to be taller than the door, as he smacked his head on the top of the doorframe.  
"OOF! Mr. Wombat is gonna pay for this!"  
As Monty tried walking through the doorway, his head got caught until it was pulled free. Everyone could see that Monty was stretched quite tall & ludicrously thin. His body looked like it was made of paper.  
At that moment, the toons all started laughing at Monty's misfortune. Even Mr. Wombat gave a small chuckle.  
"Shut up!", Monty shouted, "All of you, shut up!"  
As the toons stopped laughing, Bugs approached them with the other toons behind him.  
"What in the world happened to the four of you?"  
Furrball grabbed his tail & started wringing it nervously as he said, "Well, it's kind of a long story, Professor Bunny."  
"I'm all ears, Furrball."  
"Okay. When we were in the Chocolate Room, Hamton was drinking out of the chocolate river, then he fell in & got sucked up a pipe."  
Buster, Babs, Plucky, Shirley, and Bugs all turned to Hamton, who was still licking chocolate off his hand.  
"Well, Hamton", Bugs said, "I hope you learned a lesson about being greedy."  
Hamton, choosing not to respond, continued licking his chocolatey hand. Furrball then continued.  
"Then, in the Inventing Room, Fifi..."  
Furrball turned to his girlfriend, who looked down in shame. He felt that Fifi didn't want everyone to know what happened to her, but to his surprise, she said, "Go on, tell zhem."  
"Okay. In the Inventing Room, Fifi chewed this strip of gum that Mr. Wombat created, and she turned blue & blew up like a balloon-"  
"Like a blueberry", Fifi corrected.  
"Yeah, exactly."  
"Eet was tres horrifying. I knew somezhing bad would happen, but eet wasn't what I expected."  
Plucky then said, "Well, if you knew something bad was gonna happen, why did you chew the gum?"  
"I couldn't resist. I tried tres hard, but eet was too much."  
Shirley then asked, "Like, if the gum was causing you to blow up, why didn't you spit it out or some junk?"  
"Because, I was scared", Fifi replied with a breaking voice. Furrball wrapped his arms around the blue skunk & said, "It's okay, sweetheart."  
"Okay", Bugs said, "now what about Elmyra & Monty?"  
"Oh. In the Nut Room, Elmyra tried to take one of the squirrels, but they all attacked her & threw her down the garbage drain."  
"They what?", Buster said as Babs started giggling, "Did I just hear that right?"  
"Yep, you did."  
"Well, looks like SOMEBODY must've finally learned a lesson", Buster said as he turned to Elmyra with a smug smile on his face. Furrball then continued.  
"Then in the Television Room, Monty shrunk himself after he messed around with Mr. Wombat's T.V. device."  
"Well", Bugs said, crossing his arms, "I can't believe you all got yourselves into this mess."  
"It's no big deal", Plucky said, "Hamton & Elmyra only need a shower & they're fine."  
"Yeah, but what about me?", Monty asked, "I'm tall & thin as a wire. I'm stuck like this for good."  
"Oui", Fifi replied, "and my fur eez permanently blue. But I want my old fur back." She turned to her boyfriend & said, "Oh Furrball, what can we do?"  
Furrball thought for a moment, then came up with an idea.  
"I know someone who can help."


	22. The others restored

Furrball, Mr. Wombat, and the rest of the group all arrived at a house, where Furrball knocked on the door. It opened, and there stood Calamity Coyote.  
"Hey Cal", Furrball greeted, "I was wondering if you could help us."  
Calamity looked behind Furrball & made a face of shock as he saw Hamton, Fifi, Elmyra, and Monty.  
He held up a sign that says, "What happened to them?!"  
"Oh", Furrball replied, "it's a long story, but I'll tell you once we..."  
His voice trailed off as he saw Calamity's eyes grow wide in surprise. He turned to see that he was looking at Mr. Wombat.  
"Oh yeah, Calamity, this is Mr. Willy Wombat himself. Mr. Wombat, this is our friend, Calamity Coyote."  
The candyman approached the grey coyote & shook his hand.  
"Pleased to meet you, Calamity."  
The coyote held up a sign that says, "It's an honor to meet you."  
"Anyway, Cal", Furrball said, "would you mind helping us out here?"  
Calamity flipped his sign, which now reads, "Yes. Please, come in."

In Calamity's laboratory, which is a cave located near his house, there was a device which looked like 4 large containers made from kitchen stoves all connected side-by-side, with a few small van-de-graff generators placed on top of them. On one side of the device was a control panel, which powers & programs the device.  
Monty, Fifi, Hamton, and Elmyra were all placed in their respective containers, doors still open, with Calamity, Buster, Babs, Plucky, Shirley, and Mr. Wombat at the control panel.  
"Are you sure this will work?", Furrball asked, standing in front of the containers.  
Calamity held a sign that says, "Positive. This device will be able to restore everyone to the way they were before the tour began."  
Once Calamity pulled a lever that closed the doors, Furrball approached the container Fifi was in & placed a paw on the window.  
"How are you doing, Fifi?  
"I theenk I'll be fine."  
As Furrball joined the group, Calamity looked at Monty & saw how he was all folded up in his container. He started snickering, which got Monty's attention, then started laughing uncontrollably.  
"Oh, put a sock in it!", Monty shouted.  
Once Calamity regained control of himself, he cleared his throat as Babs said, "I hope this will work."  
"Of course it will", Buster replied, "Calamity's a genius."  
The coyote turned to Furrball & held a sign that says, "What time did the tour start?"  
"Uh, I think it started at...10 AM?", Furrball turned to Mr. Wombat, who nodded.  
"Yes, 10 AM", Furrball concluded. Once Calamity placed the time, the screen reads "**RESTORATION POINT: FEBRUARY 1, 2014 10:00 AM PST.**"  
"Alright, hit it Cal", Furrball said, and the coyote pressed a red button, which activated the device.  
The van-de-graff generators started emitting electricity while each of the 4 containers fill up with thick steam.  
The device ran & operated for nearly a minute before it shut down. Once deactivated, the doors of the containers all opened, releasing the steam.  
Everyone looked as Fifi is heard coughing. She exited the container, and everyone saw that her fur, along with her hair & eyes, are now their original colors again.  
"Hey, eet worked!", she said in excitement, "I'm no longer blue!"  
Hamton stepped out, all cleaned up, and said, "I'm not chocolate-covered anymore! Darn."  
"I'm not covered in garbage anymore!", Elmyra said.  
"And I'm not tall & thin anymore!", Monty exclaimed.  
"It worked!", Furrball laughed excitedly, "Calamity, you did it!"  
Everyone all surrounded the grey coyote, giving him hugs, handshakes & pats on the back. Fifi gave him a kiss on the cheek, causing him to blush.  
"Merci beaucoup, Monsieur Coyote."  
Calamity held a sign that says, "Aw shucks, it was nothing."  
"I gotta say", Mr. Wombat spoke up, "I am quite impressed. You are a very skilled coyote."  
"Thanks Mr. Wombat", said Calamity's sign.  
"You'd be very helpful with being an engineer at Furrball's factory."  
Calamity made a look of confusion as his sign said, "What do you mean 'Furrball's factory?'"  
"Why don't you ask him yourself?"  
Everyone turned to the little blue cat as he said, "The factory was the grand prize, Calamity, and I won it."  
"You did?!", Calamity's sign said.  
"Yeah!"  
The grey coyote flipped his sign, which now says, "You must tell me everything!"  
Furrball smiled as he began telling Calamity everything that happened today.


	23. In these arms again

Later that night at Fifi's Cadillac, Fifi was setting up bed while Furrball stared out the window with a smile on his face.  
He couldn't believe what happened today; not only was he able to go to Mr. Wombat's factory with his girlfriend, he also won the factory itself. This was simply too good to be true.  
As he continued staring out the window, his eyes were suddenly covered by Fifi's tail. She pulled him toward her, where he uncovered his eyes & saw Fifi staring lovingly at him.  
"Are vous comeeng to bed, mon amore?", she asked.  
"Yeah, gimme a second."  
As Fifi went over & sat on the bed, Furrball placed Mr. Wombat's hat down in the bookshelf & placed the two golden tickets he & Fifi found inside the hat. He then joined the purple skunk on the bed.  
As Furrball sat next to Fifi, he noticed that she was looking down with a sad look on her face.  
"What's wrong, sweetheart?", Furrball asked.  
"Nozheeng", Fifi replied.  
"Are you okay?"  
"Oui, I am. Eet's just that..."  
"What is it?"  
After a long pause, Fifi said nothing. Furrball then said, "Does it have something to do with what happened at the factory today?"  
"Oui. You have no idea what I've been through."  
As Fifi looked down again, Furrball knew what Fifi wanted; she wanted to tell him what happened to her after she was removed from the tour & how she felt about it.  
"Fifi...", Furrball said, placing a paw on her shoulder, "Go on. Tell me."  
Fifi looked up at her boyfriend, feeling reluctant at first. Finally, after a moment, she spoke up.  
"Earlier today, in zhe factory...after I swelled up & was rolled away, I deedn't know what would happen. I was scared."

_(Earlier in the factory...)_

The boat traveled along the stream of chocolate, passing by many different rooms, the Oompa-Loompas rowing in rhythm with the pounding of the drum.  
Onboard the boat with them, the giant blue ball that was Fifi was on her stomach, staring face-down toward the boat. She had her eyes closed, feeling a bit nauseous from the movement of the boat.  
After several agonizing minutes, which felt like hours for Fifi, they finally arrived at their destination. Fifi slowly opened her eyes, and once she saw the chocolate flowing around the boat, she felt her mouth go dry.  
She looked up & saw 3 words above the door in bright red: **THE JUICING ROOM.**  
Once the door opened, the Oompa-Loompas began rolling her forward, her head getting squished in the process.  
Once inside, the little orange men stopped rolling the rotund skunk, on her belly again, as they closed the door behind her. She was beginning to feel dizzy, not from all the rolling around, but from being in the room itself. She was dizzy with fear.  
At that moment, she started sweating as the door in front of her started opening. The Oompa-Loompas in front of her could see how scared she was. Fifi looked down to see one of the little men approach her & gently pat her.  
"You'll be fine", he said, which startled Fifi, not knowing they can actually speak English, even though she heard them sing twice before.  
Once the door in front of Fifi opened, she started rolling forward again, seeing the floor coming toward her.  
"No no no no no...", she said quietly before her head got squished again.  
Once Fifi was in the next room, she was now face-up toward a single dim light shining on her head. She could hear the Oompa-Loompas leave the room & close the door behind her.  
Once the door closed, all was silent. Fifi looked around & she couldn't see the walls or the ceiling at all. There was nothing but pitch black darkness all around her, with the exception of the dimly lit light above her.  
Not only could she not see anything, but she couldn't hear anything either. Not a single, faintest sound is heard. This, along with the darkness around her, and the fact that she was completely defenseless, was too much for her.  
At that moment, she closed her eyes & started crying. She felt tear go down her face, over her bloated cheeks, as she cried silently in absolute fear & sadness.  
As she cried, an image of Furrball appeared in her head, which made her even more sad. She believed that she'll never see her boyfriend again.  
"Furrball", she said quietly with her voice breaking. She wanted him more than anything. Then, something completely unexpected happened.  
"Fifi?", Furrball's voice called out. Fifi opened her eyes in surprise.  
"Furrball? Eez zhat you?"  
And sure enough, Furrball is seen walking on her body on all fours up to her head.  
"I'm right here, Fifi."  
Fifi looked on in total surprise; she believes this is all a dream. Then she wondered if being a blueberry is also part of this dream.  
She closed her eyes for a few seconds then opened them. She's still blue & fat, but Furrball is still there too.  
"Furrball?"  
The blue cat raised a hand & placed it on Fifi's head, gently rubbing her. Fifi continued crying, still feeling scared to death.  
"Furrball...",she silently cried, her voice breaking again. "Hold me...", she was beginning to have difficulty speaking, being overwhelmed with sadness. "I'm scared..."  
And at that moment, the whole entire room suddenly lit up. Fifi looked up with sad, miserable eyes to see a bunch of lights shining brightly at her.  
She looked around & saw the walls surrounding her, but to her surprise, Furrball is gone. He wasn't actually there with her, she was hallucinating.  
Then at that moment, a buzzer went off. She looked to her left, then to her right, and saw that the walls are starting to close in on her. She looked up & saw that the ceiling was coming down toward her.  
She opened her eyes wide with fear; she's gonna get crushed. However, since she couldn't move at all, all she could do is look around in terror as the room in getting smaller & smaller.  
She started sweating again, with her entire 15-foot round body filling with absolute fear. She started feeling sick, breathing heavy, her heart pounding; she felt like she's gonna throw up.  
Soon enough, as she felt the walls touch her body & saw that the ceiling was a foot away from her face, she lost all feelings of consciousness, and everything went black.

As the juice drained away, Fifi, who's no longer inflated but still blue, was lying on her side in the center of the room, unconscious. The juice formed a trail from her mouth to the drain sitting right next to her.  
As the blue skunk opened her eyes, her vision was quite blurry before it cleared out. As she started breathing, she immediately started choking.  
She was on all fours, coughing & hacking so hard, trying to get the remaining juice out of her; some of it somehow ended up in her lungs.  
After a moment, with one great cough, the juice spilled out from her mouth & made its way to the drain. Fifi's arms gave out as she slumped onto her stomach, feeling weak & exhausted.  
She breathed slowly & heavily, trying to regain her strength, trying not to pass out again. She looked around to see the Oompa-Loompas coming up to her. They helped her up on her feet & escorted her out the door. She looked down at her hands & saw that she's back to normal, but with one exception.  
"I'm steell blue", she said, looking at her blue arms. She stopped in her tracks, the Oompa-Loompas turning to her.  
"Eez zhere anytheeng you can do about my fur?", Fifi asked the little men, and they all shook their heads. Fifi looked down at her hands again, now feeling depressed about being stuck with blue fur.

_(Back at Fifi's Cadillac...)_

After Fifi finished telling Furrball what happened at the factory, Furrball was left speechless. He couldn't believe what he just heard.  
"Wow Fifi", he said, "that's just...wow."  
"I know", the purple skunk replied, "eet was notheeng but misery. After zhe Oompa-Loompas told me I was stuck weeth blue fur, I was tres depressed, because every time I looked at my arms while zhey were blue, I was always reminded about what happened today."  
Furrball started feeling Fifi's pain; he knew in his heart how she's feeling right now.  
"I deedn't want to have blue fur forever, because I would've been reminded of zhe misery & horror I went through, and...and..."  
At that moment, being unable to finish her sentence, Fifi's eyes started watering.  
"Oh, Furrball", she said as she covered her face with her hands. Furrball could see that she's ready to cry.  
He placed his hands on Fifi's shoulders as she looked at him with sad, tearful eyes.  
Her voice started breaking as she said, "I've never been so scared een my entire life."  
At that moment, she started crying, as Furrball pulled her toward him & wrapped his arms around his girlfriend.  
"Aww, Fifi", he said, feeling her pain & sadness. Fifi wrapped her arms & tail around Furrball, hugging him tightly for comfort.  
The two stayed in their embrace for a while, Fifi still crying, her tears trailing down Furrball's back & into her tail.  
"Oh, Furrball", she said, "vous have no idea what eet's like being blue & fat."  
"Actually, I do", Furrball replied, which made Fifi break the hug & look at her boyfriend's eyes in curiosity.  
"You do?"  
"Well, sort of. I mean, I stuck an air hose into my mouth & blew myself up."  
"What deed you do that for?"  
"I wanted to get back to Miami quickly. I was living with Mary Melody at the time, we were on vacation and- look, that's not important. The thing is, Fifi, it's all over. You're not blue & fat anymore. You're back to your normal self again. There's no need to worry about it anymore, it's all in the past."  
Fifi sighed, trying to calm herself before she said, "Oui, you're right. Eet's all in zhe past."  
"Now we're back together again, and I'm very happy to have you back", Furrball hugged Fifi again as he concluded, "to hold you in these arms again."  
Fifi hugged Furrball back with a smile on her face. "Oui, me too."  
After a moment, Furrball reached into his "pocket" and pulled out his Love Necklace. He placed the chain over Fifi's head, then his, and saw the silver heart dangling between them.  
The cat & skunk looked into each other's eyes & smiled, before they moved in for a kiss. They kissed long & lovingly, showing how much they missed each other.  
Once they broke the kiss, they hugged each other one last time, Furrball purring, and Fifi wrapping her tail around the two of them.  
"I love vous, Furrball."  
"I love you too, Fifi."

The next day, at Acme Loo, the toons read the newspapers & saw a picture of Furrball & Mr. Wombat in front of the factory on the front page, the headlines saying, "Willy Wombat retires, gives factory to Furrball Cat."  
The toons were quite happy for Furrball. Every day after school, Furrball would invite his friends to the factory, to show them around & share the candies with them.  
Mr. Wombat moved out of town & was never heard from again. Furrball remembered what the wombat told him before he moved away, to not forget about what happened to the one person who suddenly got everything he always wanted.  
When Furrball asked what happened to him, Mr. Wombat replied, "He lived happily ever after."

_**THE END**_  
**  
And that concludes my longest story yet, all 23 chapters finally posted, with the last chapters posted on my 21st birthday! I hope you all enjoyed this. I bet this would've made a great Tiny Toons movie, but it's most likely not gonna happen. Anyway, I am currently working on another story, and I'm sure some of you are already looking forward to it, especially Rocket Racer, since he gave me permission to add his characters to my stories. I'm only halfway finished with writing this story, so it'll probably be a while before I begin posting chapters of it. Anyway, thanks for reading my story & for all the great reviews, and a very special thanks to my mom for coming up with the lyrics for the Oompa-Loompa songs. Stay tuned for the next story. :)**


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